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THE  /'^ 

MAR  8  1913 

RELIGIONS  OF  THE  WORLD. 


AN    OUTLINE 


OF  THE 


GREAT  RELIGIOUS  SYSTEMS. 


BY 


DAVID   JAMES   BURRELL,  D.D. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

PRESBYTERIAN   BOARD   OF   PUBLICATION 

AND    SABBATH-SCHOOL   WORK, 

1334   CHESTNUT   STREET. 


COPYRIGHT,   1888,  BY 

THE   TRUSTEES   OF   THE 

PRESBYTERIAN   BOARD   OF   PUBLICATION 
AND   SABBATH-SCHOOL  WORK. 


All  Rights  Reserved. 


Westcott  &  Thomson, 
Stereotypers  and  ElectrotyJ>i:rs,  Fhilada. 


PREFACE. 


A  MAN  who  rejects  all  other  religions  and  accepts 
Christianity  ought  to  be  able  to  give  a  reason  for  it 
(i  Pet.  3:15).    To  this  end,  obviously,  he  should  have 
at  the  least  a  general  acquaintance  with  the  systems  of  ^ 
religion  which  have,  at  one  time  or  other,  claimed  the 
world's  mind  and  conscience.    It  is  the  purpose  of  this 
book  to  present  an  outline  of  the  great  systems  meas- 
urably clear,  concise  and  accurate — such  as  shall  enable 
the  reader  to  characterize  each  at  sight  and  defend  his 
faith  against  them  all.     For,  as  there  is  only  one  true" 
God,  there  can  be  only  one  true  religion.     Christianity 
claims  to  be  that  one.     It  may  verify  that  claim,  on  the^ 
one  hand,  by  a  setting  forth  of  its  own  merits,  and,  01 
the  other,  by  a  comparison  with  other  and  rival  faithi 
In  this  comparison  our  religion,  if  true,  has  everythins 
to  gain  and  nothing  to  lose.     We  therefore  rejoice  in 
the  fact  that  of  late  the  science  of  Comparative  Relig- 
ion has  rapidly  pushed  itself  to  the  front. 

The   essays  in  this  book  were  originally  prepared 

in  brief  for  a  Bible-class  of  young  men.     They  were 

afterward  revised  and  extended  for  a  university  lecture 

course,  and  once  more  for  an  association  of  pastors  in  a 

summer  assembly.     It  is  at  the  request  of  some  of  the 

foregoing  auditors  that  the  essays  have  now  been  ar- 

3 


4  PREFACE. 

ranged  for  publication.  It  is  the  writer's  hope  that  the 
book  may  prove  interesting  and  profitable — not,  perhaps, 
to  those  who  are  already  more  or  less  familiar  with  the 
science,  so  much  as  to  the  many  common  folk,  who, 
cumbered  with  much  serving  in  secular  affairs,  yet  feel- 
ing the  need  of  information  on  a  subject  which  claims 
ever  more  and  more  of  public  thought,  must  have  their 
reading  in  simple  terms,  clear  outline  and  compact 
form. 

The  following  conclusions  will  probably  occur  to  the 
reader:  (i)  There  is  a  measure  of  good  in  each  of  the 
great  religions ;  (2)  It  is  not  true  that  **  one  religion 
is  as  good  as  another ;"  (3)  The  Christian  religion  alone 
is  altogether  good ;  (4)  The  false  systems  cannot  be 
regarded  as  progressive  steps  toward  the  true ;  (5)  The 
true  religion  derives  little  or  nothing  from  the  false : 
"  It  gives  a  light  to  every  age ;  it  gives,  but  borrows 
none ;"  (6)  The  false  philosophies  which  are  from  time 
to  time  advanced  against  the  Christian  religion  are 
nearly  or  quite  all  borrowed  from  the  erroneous  sys- 
tems of  the  past;  (7)  Christianity  is  the  absolute  re- 
ligion ;  that  is,  it  is  wholly  free  from  error  and  contains 
all  good ;  (8)  It  alone  reveals  the  true  God  ;  (9)  It  alone 
presents  the  ideal  man;  (10)  It  alone  suggests  a  plan 
for  the  reconciliation  of  guilty  man  and  offended  God ; 
(11)  It  is  the  only  moral  system ;  (12)  It  is  fair,  there- 
fore, to  regard  it  as  final ;  (13)  It  is  destined  to  be  the 
universal  religion.  Jesus  shall  reign  where'er  the  sun 
doth  his  successive  journeys  run. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 


^1.  FETICHISM 7 

kl.  THE  RELIGION  OF  ANCIENT  EGYPT 29 

t 

Mu.  ZOROASTRIANISM 59 

Vfv.  BRAHMANISM 85 

^Y.  BUDDHISM 119 

//VI.  THE  RELIGION  OF  GREECE 163 

4^1.  THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  NORSEMEN 197 

U^III.  CONFUCIANISM 231 

^X.  ISLAM 263 

X.  THE  TRUE  RELIGION 305 

5 


I. 


FETICHISM. 


The  Fetich  is  any  material  thing,  living  or  dead,  not  divine, 
to  which  reverence  is  paid  on  account  of  a  supernatural  influence 
proceeding  from  it. 

Central  Thought:  A  man  is  not  the  controller  of  his  own 
affairs. 

(i)  His  master  is  fetich,  the  fortune-giver. 

(2)  He  may  have  many  fetiches  of  divers  kinds. 

(3)  Fetichism  is  {a)  not  Polytheism, 

(d)  nor  Henotheism, 
(<:)  nor  Pantheism. 

(4)  It  is,  however,  a  system,  having  both  a  creed  and  a 

cultus. 

(5)  It  is  better  than  any  form  of  materialism,  because  it  holds 

to  the  reality  of  supersensible  things. 

(6)  Providence  vs.  the  modern  fetich. 

"  IVhat  shall  I  do  to  he  saved  f    No  answer. 


THE 


Religions  of  the  World. 


I.  FETICHISM. 

The  religion  of  Adam  was  the  true  one.  He  wor- 
shiped God  in  spirit  and  in  truth.  He  had  his  theology 
direct  from  the  divine  lips.  He  "  heard  the  voice  of 
the  Lord  God  walking  in  the  garden."  There  was  no 
such  thing  as  spiritual  ignorance  or  unbelief  in  those 
days.  But  Adam  sinned  and  then  fled  shamefaced  from 
the  garden  of  delights.  Night  closed  in  around  him — an 
Egyptian  night,  a  darkness  that  could  be  felt.  He  was 
without  God  and  without  hope  in  the  world.  But  he 
was  not  without  memory.  Amid  the  ruins  of  his 
former  greatness  walked  the  dim  figure  of  his  Creator. 
The  prodigal  could  not  forget  his  home  and  his  Father, 
could  not  wholly  forget  that  he  was  made  after  the 
divine  image.  A  guilty  wanderer,  his  soul  cried  out 
for  God.  In  the  darkness  he  groped  after  him.  Oh, 
blessed  reminiscence  !  The  Moslem  felt  it  when  he 
wrote — 

**  As  thy  beloved's  eyes  are  mirrored  in  thine  eyes, 
God's  Spirit,  painted  so,  within  thy  spirit  lies." 


10  THE   RELIGIONS  OF  THE    WORLD. 

And  also  when  he  wrote — 

"  God  and  the  soul  are  two  birds  free, 
And  dwell  together  in  one  tree. 
This  eateth  various  flavored  fruits 
Of  sense's  thoughts  and  world's  pursuits; 
That  tasteth  not  nor  great  nor  small, 
But  silently  beholdeth  all." 

In  this  deep  night  we  come  upon  Fetichism,  the 
rehgion  of  the  abject  masses  of  men,  such  as  the 
Eskimos,  the  Australian  bushmen,  the  jungle-dwellers 
of  Africa.  It  is  the  lowest  grade  of  religion.  Comte, 
in  his  Positive  Philosophy,  makes  it  the  primordial  faith, 
or  the  initial  stage  in  the  logical  evolution  of  religion.* 
We  prefer  to  regard  it  as  the  farthest  point — the  point 
of  arrest,  as  it  were — in  the  retrogression  of  the  soul 
from  God.^ 

1 "  Fetichism  is  not  only  the  most  ancient,  but  it  is  also  the  most 
universal,  form  of  religion.  It  furnishes  incontrovertible  proof  that  the 
lack  of  correct  knowledge  was  the  true  and  only  cause  of  polytheism, 
and  that  for  the  uncultured  savage  everything  is  God  or  may  be  God." 
— Meiner's  History  of  Religion. 

2  Altogether,  the  theory  to  which  the  facts  appear  on  the  whole  to 
point  is  the  existence  of  a  primitive  religion  communicated  to  man 
from  without,  whereof  monotheism  and  expiatory  sacrifice  were  parts, 
and  the  gradual  clouding  over  of  this  primitive  revelation  everywhere, 
unless  it  were  among  the  Hebrews.  Even  among  them  a  worship  of 
teraphim  crept  in  (Gen.  31  :  19-35),  together  with  other  corruptions 
(Josh.  24  :  14) ;  and  the  terrors  of  Sinai  were  needed  to  clear  away 
polytheistic  accretions.  Elsewhere  degeneration  had  free  play,  "  a  dark 
cloud  stole  over  man's  original  consciousness  of  the  divinity,  and  in 
consequence  of  his  own  guilt  an  estrangement  of  the  creature  from  the 
one  living  God  took  place  :  man,  as  under  the  overpowering  sway  of 
sense  and  sensual  lust,  proportionally  weakened,  therefore,  in  his  moral 
freedom,  was  unable  any  longer  to  conceive  of  the  divinity  as  a  pure, 


FETICH  ISM.  II 

Max  Miiller  says :  "  Fetichism,  so  far  from  being,  as 
we  are  told  by  almost  every  writer  on  the  history  of 
religion,  a  primitive  form  of  faith,  is,  on  the  contrary, 
so  far  as  facts  enable  us  to  judge,  a  decided  corruption 
of  an  earlier  and  simpler  religion.  If  we  want  to  find 
the  true  springs  of  religious  ideas,  we  must  mount 
higher.  Stocks  and  stones  were  not  the  first  to  reveal 
the  Infinite  before  the  wondering  eyes  of  men."  The 
true  order  is,  **  In  the  beginning,  God." 

Definition. — The  word  fetich  is  from  the  Portuguese 
fetisso,  a  charm.^  A  fetich  is  defined  by  Waitz  as  "  an 
object  of  religious  veneration,  wherein  the  material 
thing  and  the  spirit  within  it  are  regarded  as  one ;" 
by  Schultze,  as  "  any  object  whatsoever  viewed  anthro- 
popathically  or  as  endowed  with  human  characteristics ;" 
by  Aug.  Comte,  as  "  a  body  animated  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  the  human  body,  and,  like  that,  governed  by  a 
will;"    by  Peterson,  as   "a  vehicle  through  which  a 

spiritual,  supernatural,  and  infinite  Being  distinct  from  the  world  and 
exalted  above  it." — 'Ra.v^iahso'S^s  Ancient  Religions,  \>y>.  175,  176. 

1  The  first  writer  to  employ  the  word  fetich  was  De  Brosses  in  his 
work  Du  ciilte  des  dieux  Fetiches,  which  appeared  in  1760,  anony- 
mously and  without  the  name  of  the  place  of  publication.  As  to  the 
origin  of  the  word,  he  mentions  "  .  .  .  .  certain  deities  whom  Europeans 
call  fetiches,  a  word  formed  by  our  traders  in  Senegal  out  of  the  Portu- 
guese term  fetisso — i.  e.  enchanted,  divine,  oracular." 

It  is  from  the  Latin  root  fatum,  fanum,  fari. 

Winterbottom,  in  his  Account  of  the  Native  AfHcans  in  the  Neigh- 
hood  of  Sierre  Leone,  derives  the  word  from  the  Portuguese  faticeira^ 
witch,  ox  faticaria,  witchcraft.  The  negroes  borrowed  not  only  this,  but 
also  another  -woxdifgree-gree,  from  the  Portuguese.  According  to  Bastian, 
the  universal  name  in  West  Africa  for  a  fetich  is  enquizi.  Another 
name  is  7nokisso,  ox  juju,  also  wong ;  among  several  American  tribes, 
manitu. — Fetichism,  Fritz  Schultze,  Ph.D.,  p.  24. 


12       THE   RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

supernatural  power  makes  itself  felt;"  by  Tyler,  as  "a 
spirit  embodied  in  or  attached  to,  or  conveying  influence 
through,  certain  material  objects." 

All  these  definitions  seem  too  broad.  A  fetich  is  any 
material  tiling,  living  or  dead,  wJuch,  while  not  regarded 
as  divine,  is  reverenced  07i  account  of  a  supposed  stiper- 
natiii'al  influence  proceeding  from  it} 

Central  Thought. — The  savage  has  a  clear  perception 
of  the  fact  that  he  is  not  his  own  master ;  he  is  con- 
trolled by  a  power  or  powers  not  himself.  The  most 
important  business  of  his  life  is  to  discover  those  forces 
that  hold  him  in  their  mysterious  grasp. 

(i.)  He  finds  presently,  as  he  supposes,  that  his  good 
or  ill  fortune  is  associated  with  some  material  thing,  as 
a  stone  or  a  crooked  stick  ;  this  henceforth  becomes  his 
fetich  or  potent  charm.  He  invokes  its  kind  offices  or 
placates  its  wrath,  believing  that  his  luck  is  made  or 
marred  by  it. 

He  may  have  more  fetiches  than  one ;  the  number, 
indeed,  may  be  indefinitely  increased  by  the  addition 
of  anything  whatever  that  in  any  way  affects  his  for- 
tune. He  may  believe  in  the  mysterious  animation 
of  all  sensible  things.  The  world  is  full  of  potent  life.^ 
He  fears  to  tread  upon  a  plant  or  hurt  a  noisome  rep- 

^  Webster's  definition  of  fetich  is  as  follows :  "  A  material  thing, 
living  or  dead,  which  is  made  the  object  of  brutish  and  superstitious 
worship,  as  among  certain  African  tribes."  The  objection  to  this  defini- 
tion is  that  it  confuses  the  respective  ideas  of  fetich  and  idol, 

'  "  The  negro  carries  the  belief  in  an  animated  nature  to  its  uttermost 
limits,  but  as  his  mind  is  too  rude  to  conceive  of  one  universal  animated 
nature,  his  imagination  leads  him  to  regard  every  trifling  object  around 
him  as  endowed  with  life." — Waitz,  Anthropology  of  Savage  Tribes ; 

SCHULTZE,  p.  3, 


FETICHISM.  13 

tile,  lest  it  avenge  itself  upon  him.  An  Indian  salutes 
a  snake  by  the  wayside,  "  Hail,  friend !  take  this  gift 
of  tobacco-dust;  it  will  comfort  you  on  your  long 
journey."  He  may  crush  the  reptile,  but  not  until 
he  has  first  placated  it. 

(2.)  He  may  have  Many  Fetiches. — The  kinds  of  fetich 
are  innumerable.  Trees,  rivers  and  mountains  are  in- 
vested with  the  mysterious  power.^  The  Australians 
worship  the  rock-crystal.^     The  aborigines  of  North 

1  Jacob  Grimm  gives  a  very  full  account  of  the  worship  paid  to  water 
in  the  spring,  the  brook,  the  river  and  the  sea,  and  describes  the  relig- 
ious observances  of  the  people  as  they  "  offered  their  prayers,  lighted 
lamps  or  made  their  sacrifices  on  the  banks  of  the  stream  or  on  the 
margin  of  the  spring;"  and  these  usages  he  traces  from  the  remotest 
antiquity  down  into  the  Christian  era. 

"The  pure,  flowing,  bubbling  evanescent  water;  the  flaming,  glow- 
ing, dying  fire ;  the  air,  perceptible,  not  to  the  eye,  but  to  the  ear  and 
to  the  touch ;  the  earth,  which  maintains  all  things  and  to  which  they 
all  revert, — these  have  ever  been  regarded  by  man  as  sacred  and  wor- 
shipful, and  through  them  he  has  been  wont  to  bestow  a  solemn  conse- 
cration upon  the  customs,  the  pursuits  and  the  events  of  his  life.  Their 
action  upon  the  entire  universe  being  steady  and  constant,  the  untutored 
mind  pays  them  worship  for  their  own  sake,  without  any  reference  to  a 
deity  residing  in  them," — Schultze,  p.  66. 

'  The  Ephesians  worshiped  a  block  of  black  stone  having  a  remote 
resemblance  to  a  human  figure,  which  they  called  Diana.  It  was  said 
to  have  fallen  down  from  heaven,  the  fact  being,  probably,  that  it  was 
a  meteoric  stone. 

Keary  says  in  his  Outlines  of  Primitive  Belief,  p.  83  :  "  The  great 
typical  instance  is  that  of  the  Artemisium  at  Ephesus.  Some  remains 
of  this  wonder  of  the  world  have  in  quite  recent  days  been  recovered 
and  brought  to  this  country,  and  we  may  judge  from  them  (if  we  were 
in  doubt  before)  that  in  outward  decorative  art  it  was  inferior  to  no 
production  of  its  own  age. 

"  In  the  holy  of  holies  still  stood  the  time-honored  image  of  the 
Ephesian  Artemis,  that  hideous  figure,  only  part  human,  part  bestial  or 
worse,  and  part  still  a  block.     This  had  been  the  central  object  of  all 


14  THE   RELIGIONS  OF   THE    WORLD. 

America  attached  a  peculiar  virtue  to  the  wampum- 
belt.  There  are  negroes  in  the  interior  of  Africa  who 
know  no  god  greater  than  a  cord  which  they  wear 
knotted  about  the  calves  of  their  legs.  (The  Jesuit 
missionaries  are  said  to  have  substituted  for  this  a 
rope  of  twisted  palm-leaf  which  had  been  blessed  on 
Palm  Sunday.) 

A  star/  a   cloud,^  the  "lights  of   St.   Elmo/*^  an 

from  earliest  to  latest  days.  For  the  sake  of  this  the  three  temples  had 
risen,  one  upon  the  site  of  the  other,  A  real  Greek  Artemis  might 
adorn  the  sculptures  of  the  walls,  might  be  allowed  presence  as  an 
ornament  merely,  but  the  popular  worship  was  paid  to  the  deformed 
figure  within." 

^  "  The  vices  which  degrade  the  moral  character  of  the  Romans  are 
mixed  with  a  puerile  superstition  that  disgraces  their  understanding. 
They  listen  with  confidence  to  the  predictions  of  haruspices,  who  pre- 
tend to  read,  in  the  entrails  of  victims,  the  signs  of  future  greatness  and 
prosperity ;  and  there  are  many  who  do  not  presume  either  to  bathe  or 
to  dine  or  to  appear  in  public  till  they  have  diligently  consulted,  ac- 
cording to  the  rules  of  astrology,  the  situation  of  Mercury  and  the 
aspect  of  the  moon." — Gibbon's  Rome,  chap.  31. 

On  the  I2th  of  December,  1680,  John  Evelyn  writes:  "This  even- 
ing, looking  out  of  my  chamber  window  toward  the  west,  I  saw  a  meteor 
of  an  obscure  bright  color,  very  much  in  shape  like  the  blade  of  a 
sword,  the  rest  of  the  sky  being  very  serene  and  clear.  What  this 
may  portend  God  only  knows.  But  such  another  phenomenon  I  remem- 
ber to  have  seen  in  1640,  about  the  trial  of  the  great  earl  of  Strafford 
preceding  our  bloody  revolution," — Knight's  Ejtgland,  vol.  iv.  chap.  22. 

2  All  men  had  a  touch  of  superstition,  Evelyn  looks  with  wonder 
upon  •'  a  shining  cloud  in  the  air  in  shape  resembling  a  sword."  After 
the  battle  of  Edgehill,  "  in  the  very  place  where  the  battle  was  stricken, 
have  since  and  doth  appear  strange  and  portentous  apparitions  of  two 
jarring  and  contrary  armies."  So  records  a  tract  in  which  the  appari- 
tions and  prodigious  noises  of  war  and  battles  are  certified  by  a  justice 
of  the  peace,  a  preacher  and  other  persons  of  quality. — Knight's  Eng- 
land, chap.  3. 

3  "  Toward  the  latter  part  of  October  they  had  in  the  night  a  gust  of 


FETICH  ISM.  15 

elephant's  tooth,. a  lion's  tail,  a  bunch  of  hair  from  a 
white  man's  beard,  a  splinter  of  a  tree  struck  by  light- 
ning, a  curious  stone,  a  heap  of  mud,  birds  and  beasts 
of  every  kind,^  dwarfs  and  albinos — in  short,  anything 
material  in  heaven  above  or  earth  beneath — may  come 
to  be  regarded  as  a  fetich. 

This  is  not  Polytheism. — Observe  that  this  invest- 
heavy  rain,  accompanied  by  the  severe  thunder  and  lightning  of  the 
tropics.  It  lasted  for  four  hours,  and  they  considered  themselves  in 
much  peril  until  they  beheld  several  of  those  lambent  flames  playing 
about  the  tops  of  the  masts  and  gliding  along  the  rigging  which  have 
always  been  objects  of  superstitious  fancies  among  sailors.  Fernando 
Columbus  makes  remarks  on  them  strongly  characteristic  of  the  age  in 
which  he  lived  :  *  On  the  same  Saturday,  in  the  night,  was  seen  St. 
Elmo,  with  seven  lighted  tapers  at  the  topmast ;  there  was  much  rain 
and  great  thunder ;  I  mean  to  say  that  those  lights  were  seen  which 
mariners  affirm  to  be  the  body  of  St.  Elmo,  on  beholding  which  they 
chant  litanies  and  orisons,  holding  it  for  certain  that  in  the  tempest  in 
which  he  appears  no  one  is  in  danger,'  " — Irving's  Columbus,  book  vi. 
chap.  I. 

^  In  the  East  India  islands,  as  in  Africa  also,  the  shark  is  a  mighty 
fetich  along  the  sea-coast.  Eels  are  worshiped  in  Cusaie  and  in  the 
Marian  Isles.  In  the  Carolines  the  god  Mani  is  represented  as  a  fish. 
"  At  Eap  there  are  kept  in  a  pond  of  fresh  water  two  fishes  of  ex- 
treme age,  but  yet  only  a  span  in  length,  which  always  stand  in  a  right 
line,  head  to  head,  without  moving.  If  any  man  touch  them  and  they 
are  made  to  stand  at  right  angles  with  each  other,  an  earthquake  is  the 
result." 

The  reverence  paid  by  American  Indians  to  the  rattlesnake  was 
the  means  of  saving  the  life  of  the  Count  von  Zinzendorf  (1742): 
"  The  Cayugas,  with  whom  he  was  staying,  were  about  to  put  him  to 
death,  supposing  that  his  presence  was  productive  of  ill-luck  to  them. 
The  count  was  seated  one  night  on  a  bundle  of  sticks,  writing  by  the 
light  of  a  small  fire.  Unknown  to  him,  a  rattlesnake  lay  alongside 
him.  When  the  Indians  who  were  to  take  his  life  approached  and 
observed  the  snake,  they  withdrew,  firmly  convinced  that  the  stranger 
was  of  divine  origin." — Schultze. 


1 6  THE   RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

iture  of  all  things  with  a  living  power  is  not  Poly- 
theism. The  fetich  is  not  an  idol ;  that  is,  a  symbol 
or  image  of  the  true  God.  No  doubt,  as  we  shall 
presently  see,  there  are  savages  who  believe  in  the 
Invisible  One,  but  their  fetiches,  as  such,  are  in  no 
wise  associated  with  him.  The  moment  an  object 
stands  for  God  it  ceases  to  be  a  fetich  in  any  proper 
sense,  and  becomes  an  idol.  Schultze  says,  referring 
to  animal  veneration,  "  They  worship  the  animal  itself 
ill  p7'oprid  7iaturd,  and  without  any  reference  to  any 
divinity  which  it  may  represent."  ^ 

Nor  is  it  HenotJieism. — Observe,  again,  that  this  is 
not  what  Max  Miiller  calls  "  Henotheism ;"  that  is, 
the  worship  of  anything  as  a  god  in  and  of  itself,  with- 
out respect  to  the  Supreme  One.  The  fetich,  we  repeat, 
is  not  in  any  wise  whatsoever  regarded  or  treated  as 
a  god. 

Nor  Pantheism. — Once  more  observe :  it  is  not  Pan- 
theism. It  does  indeed  fill  the  earth  with  mysteri- 
ous powers,  but  there  is  no  blending  or  expanding 
of  all  into  one.  The  savage  cannot  generalize  in  that 
way.  He  merely  personifies,  like  a  child  playing  with 
a  doll.^     His  fetich  is  a  living  thing,  with  an  influence 

1  "  It  is  not  as  if  the  savage  in  his  anthropopathic  apprehension  rep- 
resented to  himself  a  self-existent  superior  power,  a  self-existent  soul 
which  merely  assumed  for  a  time  the  external  shape  of  the  fetich  No: 
the  stone  remains  a  stone,  the  river  a  river." — ScHULTZE,  p.  21. 

2  "  The  little  girl  who  in  perfect  seriousness  regards  her  doll  as  a  play- 
mate, who  strips  and  clothes  it,  feeds  and  chastises  it,  puts  it  to  bed  and 
hushes  it  to  sleep,  calls  it  by  a  personal  name,  etc.,  never  imagines  that 
all  her  care  is  expended  on  a  lifeless  thing ;  she  does  not  make  any  such 
reflections  as  these:  'This  is  all  merely  an  illusion  that  I  indulge  on 
purpose — a  play  that  I  engage  in,  but  with  the  distinct  understanding 


FETICHISM.  17 

all  its  own  to  make  or  mar  his  fortune ;  it  is,  in  other 
words,  a  mascot  taking  the  place  of  a  god.  It  is  not 
divine ;  it  can  scarcely  be  called  supernatural.  It  is  a 
material  object  supposed  to  be  endowed  with  super- 
natural gifts.  Its  power  is  an  unknown  quantity  which 
experience  alone  can  estimate. 

A  Kaffir  broke  a  piece  off  the  anchor  of  a  stranded 
vessel  and  soon  after  died.  The  Kaffirs  thenceforth 
regarded  that  anchor  as  possessed  of  the  mysterious 
influence,  and  saluted  it  as  they  passed  by  with  a  view 
to  propitiating  it. 

If  a  fetich  fails  to  stand  the  test  of  experience,  it  is 
scolded,  flogged,  imprisoned,  dragged  in  the  mire  or 
cast  into  the  sea.^  It  is  not  uncommon,  after  an  epi- 
demic, for  an  entire  tribe  to  make  a  bonfire  of  their 
fetiches.  These  are  obviously,  therefore,  not  regarded 
as  divine  in  any  important  sense,  although  they  may 
be  said  to  be  esteemed  by  the  savages  as  tentative 
powers  to  be  cast  aside  when  their  insufficiency  is 
shown,  as,  e.g.,  their  not  being  able  to  ward  off  a  plague. 
When  Xerxes  ordered  three  hundred  lashes  to  be  ad- 
ministered to  the  Hellespont  because  it  had  broken  up 
his  bridge  of  boats,  he  manifestly  had  no  flattering 

that,  it  is  only  play.'  She  has  no  thought  that  the  doll  is  a  lifeless 
thing;  for  her  it  is  possessed  of  a  human  life." — Schultze,  p.  21. 

1  "  In  front  of  the  American's  house  (in  Shemba-Shemba,  West 
Africa)  there  was  a  crowd  of  people  assembled,  in  the  midst  of  whom 
a  fetich-priest  was  running  up  and  down  with  loud  cries,  jerking  hither 
and  thither  a  wooden  puppet  decked  with  tatters  of  every  color,  and 
beating  it  with  a  switch  on  the  face  and  shoulders.  I  learned  that  a 
knife  had  been  stolen  from  one  of  the  negroes,  and  he  had  applied  for 
its  recovery  to  this  priest,  who  was  the  owner  of  a  fetich  in  high  repute 
as  a  detective  of  thieves." — Schultze,  p.  27. 
2 


1 8       THE   RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

opinion  of  its  power ;  he  did  not  regard  the  Hellespont 
as  either  a  god  or  the  symbol  of  a  god ;  it  was  a  fetich 
overpowered  by  the  winds,  and  therefore  to  be  treated 
with  angry  contempt. 

The  fetich  is  understood  to  be  more  or  less  familiar 
with  the  future.  It  is  consulted  on  the  chase  and  in 
time  of  war.  In  Lapland  a  ring  is  used  for  divination 
upon  the  head  of  a  magical  drum.  The  North  Ameri- 
can Indians  foretell  coming  events  by  taking  the  direc- 
tion of  smoke  from  the  wigwam  of  the  great  medicine- 
man. 

Fortune-telling  is  a  rudimental  kind  of  Fetichism. 
The  prospector  who  in  these  days  in  our  mining  dis- 
tricts wanders  over  the  hills  with  a  hazel  switch  poised 
in  his  hand  searching  for  ore  is  a  fetichist.  Emerson 
wrote, 

"  Things  are  in  the  saddle, 
And  ride  mankind." 

This  is  evidently  true  of  such  things  as  horseshoes, 
hazel  twigs  and  crooked  sixpences. 

The  savage  ascribes  to  his  fetich  the  power  of  de- 
fending him  from  evil.  He  has  one  fetich  against  the 
thunder,  another  against  lions,  another  against  diseases, 
another  to  extract  thorns  from  his  feet.  Potsherds  are 
scattered  around  burying-places  to  keep  off  evil  spirits, 
and  the  camp  is  surrounded  with  mussel-shells  to  cut 
the  devil's  feet.  A  beaver-skin  or  an  earthen  pot  on  a 
pole  in  the  midst  of  the  encampment  is  an  effective 
"  totem  "  to  avert  evil.  Among  certain  tribes  on  the 
western  coast  of  Africa  it  is  the  custom  for  a  son  to 
preserve  the  skull  of  his  father  as  a  great  fetich.     It  is 


FETICHISM.  19 

kept  in  a  secret  place  where  no  one  but  himself  is  ever 
allowed  to  see  it.  He  sets  food  and  offers  sacrifices 
before  it.  This  attention  secures  him  victory  over  all 
his  foes.^ 

Here  we  have  the  most  abject  form  of  spiritual  bond- 
age. It  is  the  harpy  Superstition  wielding  a  whip  of 
scorpions.  The  infant  at  its  birth  is  placed  under  the 
tutelage  of  a  fetich.  A  vow  of  faithful  service  is  made 
in  its  behalf  by  the  fond  parents  and  tattooed  in  hiero- 
glyphics upon  the  tender  flesh.  The  fetich  thus  chosen 
is  called  the  .great  one,  and  is  thenceforth  the  control- 
ling genius  of  the  life  of  this  immortal  being.  He  is 
accustomed  from  his  earliest  childhood  to  revere  the 
terms  of  this  parental  covenant.  He  expects  his  fetich 
to  preserve  him  from  danger  and  misfortune,  in  return 
for  which  he  renders  an  unquestioning  and  unfaltering 
service.  Other  fetiches  he  may  have,  but  this  is  always 
the  supreme  one.  An  Indian  lad  upon  the  verge  of 
manhood  takes  a  new  fetich.     He  retires  to  a  lonely 

^  Rev.  A.  W.  Marling,  of  the  Gaboon  mission,  speaks  as  follows  of  a 
revolting  form  of  worship  prevailing  among  the  f'ang  tribe  of  Western 
Africa :  "  It  is  called  in  their  language  beatee.  It  is  practiced  by  the 
men  only;  the  women  are  not  allowed  to  know  anything  about  it. 
When  a  man  has  been  dead  and  buried  for  some  time  the  skull  is  taken 
from  the  grave,  given  to  his  eldest  son,  who  takes  it  to  his  own  house 
and  places  it  in  some  secret  corner.  Henceforth  no  one  except  him- 
self, not  even  his  wife,  is  allowed  to  see  it.  The  spirit  of  his  father  is 
now  supposed  to  have  a  special  care  for  the  son.  If  the  latter  be  set- 
ting out  on  a  journey,  he  has  a  fowl  or  a  goat  killed  and  food  prepared. 
This  he  himself  takes  and  deposits  in  private  before  the  skull.  The 
spirit  is  supposed  to  partake  of  the  refreshment  and  to  be  propitiated 
toward  the  son,  and  to  grant  him  protection  in  his  journey  and  success 
in  his  undertaking,  whatever  it  may  be." — Foreign  Missionary,  June, 
1885,  pp.  21,  22. 


20       THE   RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

place  in  the  forest  and  dreams  his  life-dream,  wherein 
his  destiny  is  revealed  to  him.  On  awaking  he  tracks 
an  animal  to  its  lair  and  kills  it,  and  its  skin,  worn 
thenceforth  upon  his  person,  is  regarded  as  a  magical 
protector.  Should  he  lose  it  he  receives  an  ignomin- 
ious title,  "  The  man  without  medicine."  The  skin 
serves  him  as  his  Providence.  It  stands  him  in  the 
place  of  a  god. 

(3.)  It  is  a  System. — This  rude  form  of  religion — if 
religion  it  may  be  called — is  found  sometimes  possess- 
ing the  characteristics  of  a  system.  It  has  a  creed  and 
a  cultiis.  It  has  an  order  of  ministers,  called  gangas, 
magians,  feticeros  or  medicine-men,  etc.,  whose  duties 
are  to  reveal  the  future,  practice  necromancy  and  jug- 
gling tricks,  minister  at  the  altar  and  guard  the  mys- 
teries from  profane  eyes.  They  usually  speak  a  lan- 
guage of  their  own,  a  dialect  quite  unintelligible  to 
lay  folk.  They  have  temples  also.  One  of  these 
in  Africa  is  thus  described  by  Bastian :  "  The  sacred 
place  was  quadrangular,  constructed  of  straw  matting, 
the  entire  front  being  of  wooden  framework  with  three 
arched  doorways.  Each  of  the  two  side-doorways  was 
surmounted  by  a  pyramid,  while  over  the  middle  one 
rose  a  cupola,  and  the  doorposts  were  adorned  with 
figures  in  blue  and  green.  Within  was  the  fetich,  a 
simple  mound  of  earth,  on  which  stood  three  forked 
sticks  painted  red  and  white  in  alternate  stripes." 

Such  is  Fetichism,  the  religion  of  the  charm,  the 
cabal,  the  talisman,  the  "  mascot." 

(4.)  It  is  Better  than  Materialisin. — There  is  this 
only  to  be  said  in  its  favor :  it  betrays  an  instinctive 


FETICH  ISM.  21 

faith  in  the  unseen.  May  we  venture  with  Schleier- 
macher  to  call  this  the  ''God-consciousness"?  No 
man  created  in  the  divine  image  ever  yet  sank  so  low 
in  barbarism  as  to  be  a  thorough  materialist.  The 
naked  cannibal  believes  in  the  reality  of  invisible 
things.  His  Fetichism,  if  not  worship,  is  a  step  taken 
through  the  darkness  toward  God.^ 
The  Hindus  have  this  proverb : 

"  The  wall  said  to  the  nail,  '  What  have  I  done 
That  through  me  thy  sharp  tooth  thou  thus  dost  run?' 
The  nail  replied,  *  Poor  fool !  what  do  I  know  ? 
Ask  him  who  beats  my  head  with  many  a  blow.' " 

I  say,  therefore,  that  though  he  does  obeisance  to 
nothing  better  than  a  coil  of  dried  intestines  hung  on 
the  ridge-pole  of  his  tent,  the  fetich-worshiper  is  nearer 
heaven  than  the  fool  (Ps.  14  :  i)  whose  university  cul- 
ture has  emboldened  him  to  say,  "  There  is  no  God." 
The  fetichist  has  something  that  serves  him  as  a  rule 
of  faith  and  practice,  though  it  be  merely,  as  Bastian 
calls  it,  "a  system  of  the  universe  in  smallest  twelve- 
mo." ^     Better  a  philosophy  of  gorgons,  hydras  and 

^  "  Primitive  man  has  a  belief  in  the  great  thing — the  tree,  river, 
mountain,  or  what  not.  This  belief  is  an  affection  of  the  mind,  very 
different  from  the  simple  sense  that  the  thing  is  physically  broad  and 
high.  Along  with  the  physical  sensation  goes  a  subtler  inward  feeling, 
a  sense  not  easily  measurable,  as  physical  sensations  are,  but  still  dis- 
coverable. We  know  it  to  be  there  by  the  answer  which  the  material 
sensation  has  called  out  of  man's  heart,  and  which  makes  itself  audibly 
known  in  his  worship." — Keary's  Outlines  of  Primitive  Belief,  p.  17. 

'  "The  vow  he  has  undertaken  is  for  him  the  sum-total  of  religion. 
So  long  as  things  go  pleasantly  for  him  he  is  happy  and  contented  under 
the  guardianship  of  his  mokisso ;  he  feels  strong  in  the  assurance  of 


22  THE   RELIGIONS   OE   THE    WORLD. 

chimeras  dire  than  what  Carlyle  calls  a  "  religion  of 
frog-spawn,"  a  '*  philosophy  of  dirt."  The  fetichist 
believes  in  an  overruling  spiritualism,  in  presences 
more  or  less  powerful,  here  and  there  and  everywhere. 
Moreover,  he  believes  in  his  own  helplessness.  His 
destiny  is  in  the  grip  of  these  unseen  and  unknown 
presences.  He  must  somehow  keep  on  the  right  side 
of  them  or  disaster  will  overtake  him.  He  has  little 
or  no  conception  of  sin  or  of  virtue,  as  such.  His 
chief  end  is  to  please  himself,  and  all  his  aspirations 
are  briefly  comprehended  in  good-hick}  Give  him  suc- 
cess in  the  chase,  victory  in  battle,  rings  and  bracelets, 

divine  approval ;  ascribes  to  the  divine  complacency  his  days  of  sun- 
shine; indeed,  his  judgment  is  strictly  controlled  by  his  wishes  and 
desires.  But  if,  unintentionally  or  involuntarily,  he  breaks  his  vow,  the 
whole  course  of  providence  in  his  regard  is  at  once  and  irrevocably 
altered.  Then  misfortune  overtakes  him  ;  he  is  quickly  overwhelmed 
with  calamities,  and  his  only  escape  lies  through  death  and  oblivion ; 
for  him  there  is  no  hope,  no  path  leading  to  reconciliation  and  deliver- 
ance. The  luckless  wretch  need  not,  in  Africa  at  least,  go  far  in  search 
of  death.  The  fiends  who  surround  him  in  the  shape  of  fellow-men 
quickly  trample  him  to  death,  and  with  the  last  breath  of  the  fetich- 
worshiper  expires  a  system  of  the  universe  in  smallest  twelvemo." — 
Bastian,  Schultze,  p.  39. 

1 "  Certain  Bushmen,  being  asked  by  a  European  what  they  meant  by 
good  and  what  by  bad,  could  not  give  any  reply,  but  they  held  fratricide 
to  be  perfectly  harmless. 

"  The  Kamtchatdales  hold  that  an  act  is  sinful  which  is  unlucky ;  for 
instance,  to  visit  hot  springs ;  to  brush  snow  off  the  shoes  out  of  doors; 
to  seize  a  red-hot  coal  otherwise  than  with  the  fingers  when  you  would 
light  your  pipe;  to  bring  home  the  first  fox  you  have  taken ;  to  tread 
in  the  tracks  of  a  bear,  etc. 

"  The  Orangoo  negroes  hold  it  sinful  to  spit  on  the  earth,  while  the 
natives  of  Labrador  regard  nothing  as  sinful  save  only  the  murder  of  an 
innocent  man." — Schultze,  p.  11. 


FETICH  ISM.  23 

and  plenty  of  wives,  and  what  more  could  a  man  want 
here  below  ?^ 

(5.)  Providence  vs.  the  Fetich. — We  have  been  long 
enough  in  this  miasmatic  valley ;  let  us  climb  up  the 
mountains  and  through  the  clear  air  of  our  Christian 
faith  look  away  to  the  ineffable  Throne.  What  in- 
finite stretches  of  crag  and  chasm  lie  between  the  fetich 
and  God ! 

On  the  clear  heights  of  belief  there  is  no  chance. 
We  are  in  the  domain  of  providence : 

"  All  is  of  God  !     If  he  but  raise  his  hand 

The  mists  collect,  the  rain  falls  thick  and  loud, 
Till,  with  a  smile  of  light  on  sea  and  land, 

Lo !  he  looks  back  from  the  departing  cloud." 

To  believe  thoroughly  in  Providence  is  to  be  a  very 
child  of  God.  But,  alas  !  there  is  something  of  fetich- 
worship  in  every  one  of  us.^     We  believe  in  charms 

*  "  In  all  negro  languages  the  word  belly  is  one  of  great  import. 
Politeness  requires  that  one  inquire  if  all  is  well  with  his  neighbor's 
belly.  The  South  Sea  Islanders  call  thoughts  words  in  the  belly.  The 
stomach  of  one  who  dies  is  kept  as  a  relic,  and  the  Kroo  negroes  hold 
that  the  stomach  ascends  into  heaven  after  death." — Schultze,  p.  12. 

2  II  Why  is  it  that  sailors  cling  to  port  on  a  Friday  and  loose  their 
ships  and  weigh  anchor  on  Sunday  ?  Why  did  the  ancients  build  a 
temple  to  Fortune,  consult  oracles  and  venerate  white  stones  rather  than 
black  stones  ?  Why  did  our  grandmothers  dislike  the  assemblage  of 
nine  rooks,  turn  back  when  they  met  a  dog  crossing  their  paths  and 
show  an  antipathy  to  black  cats?  Why  does  a  Fijian,  to  propitiate  his 
ugly  wooden  god,  offer  him  a  bakolo,  the  dead  body  of  his  brother  ? 
Why  was  it  improper  to  eat  beans  and  the  seeds  of  the  lupine?  What 
magic  makes  the  third  time  never  like  the  rest  ?  At  the  wicked  little 
German  towns  where  small  grand-dukes  improve  their  revenues  by 
licensing  gaming-tables  you  will  find  old  gamblers  begging  the  youngest 
in  the  company,  often  an  English  boy  who  has  come  to  look  about  him. 


24  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

and  amulets,  in  magic  numbers  and  unlucky  days. 
Our  grandmothers  were  afraid  to  walk  over  the  sweep- 
ings of  their  rooms.  There  are  those  who  cover  up 
their  looking-glasses  in  presence  of  the  shrouded  dead. 
Farmers  are  afraid  to  disturb  the  swallows  that  chatter 
under  the  eaves  of  their  barns,  lest  so  doing  they  blast 
the  growing  harvest.  The  sailor  has  a  thousand  super- 
stitious fancies. 

"  God  save  thee,  ancient  mariner, 

From  the  fiends  that  plague  thee  thus  ! 
Why  look'st  thou  so  ?" — "  With  my  cross-bow 
I  shot  the  albatross  I" 

In  the  van  of  Peter  the  Hermit's  army  of  crusaders 
was  carried  a  sacred  goose,  on  the  life  or  death  of 
which  was  thought  to  depend  the  issue  of  the  cam- 
paign for  the  conquest  of  the  holy  sepulchre.^ 

In  witchcraft  we  find  a  stupendous  relic  of  Fetichism, 
the  fires  of  which  are  scarcely  yet  extinguished.  The 
red  string  which  a  lad  ties  around  his  fingers  to  cure 
warts  is  a  fetich.^     The  Holy  Grail  was  a  fetich  ;  so  are 

to  take  for  them  the  first  throw  of  the  dice.  Why  so  ?  \Miy  is  a  fresh 
hand  more  likely  to  throw  the  three  sixes  than  an  old  one?" — The 
Gentle  Life. 

/  "^  "  Above  eighty  thousand  ranged  themselves  under  the  banner  of 
Peter  the  Hermit,  who  walked  at  their  head  with  a  rope  about  his 
waist  and  sandals  on  his  feet.  Peter's  lieutenant  was  Walter  the  Penny- 
.less,  and  in  the  van  of  his  troops  were  carried  a  sacred  goose  and  a  goat ^ 
which  (monstrous  to  believe!)  were  said  to  be  filled  with  the  Holy 
Ghost.  This  immense  and  disorderly  multitude  began  their  march 
toward  the  East  in  the  year  1095." — Tytler's  History,  book  vi.  ch  9. 

'  "  A  pulled  tooth  is  to  be  driven  into  a  young  tree  and  covered  with 
the  bark.  If  the  tree  be  cut  down  the  ache  comes  back.  If  you  break 
a  twig  off  a  willow  and  drive  it  into  the  aching  tooth  until  the  blood 


FETICH  ISM.  25 

bones  of  the  saints,  splinters  of  the  true  cross  and 
similar  relics,  as  well  as  all  charms,  talismans,  rosaries 
and  images  blessed  by  priests.^  We  are  thus  con- 
tinually tempted  to  push  aside  Providence  and  make 
way  for  strange  influences.^ 

"  And  still  from  Him  we  turn  away, 

And  fill  our  hearts  with  worthless  things ; 

The  fires  of  avarice  melt  the  clay, 
And  forth  the  fetich  springs  ! 

Ambition's  flame  and  passion's  heat 
By  wondrous  alchemy  transmute 
Earth's  dross,  to  raise  some  gilded  brute 

To  fill  Jehovah's  seat." 

The  brazen  serpent,  cherished  for  its  sacred  associa- 
tions, came  to  be  regarded  at  length  as  a  fetich,  and  was 

comes,  and  then  restore  the  twig  to  its  place,  drawing  the  bark  over  it, 
the  toothache  goes  away." — Schultze,  p.  61. 

*  One  of  the  most  familiar  fetiches  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  is 
the  scapular.  It  is  related  that  the  Virgin  Mary,  appearing  to  St.  Simon 
Stock,  presented  him  with  a  "  scapular,"  or  brown  woolen  jacket,  at 
the  same  time  informing  him  that  it  would  protect  the  wearer  from  all 
possible  danger  of  the  flames  of  hell.  The  scapular  received  the  formal 
sanction  of  Pope  Clement  X.  It  was  furtheiinore  announced  by  Pope 
John  XXII.  in  his  bull  *  Sabbathine '  that  any  person  dying  with  the 
scapular  upon  his  person  would  remain  in  purgatory  only  until  the 
Saturday  following  his  death.  The  Carmelite  monks  were  granted  a 
monopoly  of  the  trade  in  scapulars,  and  they  reaped  immense  profits 
from  it. 

2  "  In  1608,  John  Smith  was  preserved  by  the  Indians  who  had 
butchered  his  companions.  He  exhibited  a  pocket  compass  and  showed 
how  it  always  pointed  to  one  quarter.  He  requested  that  a  letter  should 
be  conveyed  to  Jamestown,  and  when  it  was  known  that  he  could  so 
endue  a  piece  of  paper  with  intelligence  as  to  speak  to  his  distant  com- 
panions, he  was  beheld  with  superstitious  awe." — Knight's  England^ 
vol.  iii.  ch.  22,  p.  344. 


26  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

destroyed ;  " '  Nehushtan !'  cried  Hezekiah ;  that  is  to  say, 
Mt  is  nothing  but  brass.' "  The  bread  of  the  sacra- 
mental feast  when  invested  with  supernatural  virtues 
becomes  a  fetich ;  so  does  the  Bible  when  printer's  ink 
and  paper  claim  the  reverence  due  to  the  spirit  of  the 
Word.  It  is  much  to  be  feared  that  prayer  itself,  when 
used  as  a  mere  herb  or  balsam  for  healing  disease  and 
in  return  for  a  stipulated  fee,  is  a  fetich  and  nothing 
else.  The  Jews  made  a  great  fetich  of  Mount  Zion, 
and  the  Samaritans  of  Gerizim,  and  the  discourse  of 
Jesus  was  aimed  at  both  when  he  said,  "  Believe  me, 
the  hour  cometh,  when  ye  shall  neither  in  this  moun- 
tain, nor  yet  at  Jerusalem,  worship  the  Father.  .  .  .  God 
is  a  Spirit;  and  they  that  worship  him  must  worship 
him  in  spirit  and  in  truth." 

The  man  who  believes  in  charms  and  talismans,  in! 
maeic  or  divination  or  witchcraft,  in  sacred  relics  or 

1 

images,  or  the  consecrated  wafer,  is  a  spiritual  kins-; 
man  of  him  who  does  obeisance  to  formless  stocks 
and  stones.  | 

"  What  shall  I  Do  to  be  Saved  T-— The  fetich-wor- 
shiper is  a  believer  in  immortality,  but  his  sensual 
mind  is  so  absorbed  in  the  gratification  of  present 
needs  that  he  thinks  little  or  nothing  of  the  everlast- 
ing future.  To  him  salvation  is  a  word  in  an  unknown 
tongue.  In  his  rude  philosophy  there  is  nothing  to 
bridge  the  chasm  between  the  sinful  soul  and  the 
offended  Lawgiver.^     The  man  who  rejects  Providence 

*"A  draught  o^ fetich-water  can  discover  in  the  heart  the  proofs 
whether  of  guilt  or  of  innocence,  and  it  is  therefore  but  natural  that  it 
should  have  also  power  to  banish  moral  ills.     During  the  festival  of  the 


FETICH  ISM.  27 

can  have  no  Saviour,  for  our  Christ  is  simply  the  best 
of  providences,  the  Special  One. 

Two  practical  thoughts  by  way  of  application : 
I.  Let  us  honor  Providence.  We  live  beneath  the 
glowing  light  of  the  Sun  of  Righteousness.  We  know 
that  God  liveth  and  ruleth  over  all.  Let  us  take  heed, 
therefore,  and  beware  of  investing  anything  whatsoever, 
or  any  person  whomsoever,  with  wisdom  or  power  that 
belongs  to  God  alone.  His  is  the  eye  that  never  sleeps 
beneath  the  wing  of  night.  Good-fortune  is  his  smile, 
and  "  our  midnight  is  his  smile  withdrawn." 

IL  The  abject  servitude  and  helplessness  of  the 
millions  who  are  not  only  without  God,  but  without 
symbols  of  him,  appeal  as  with  articulate  voices  to  all 
that  is  humane  within  us.  We  pity  the  idolaters,  such 
as  worship  graven  images  of  Deity,  but  there  are  vast 
multitudes  still  lower  down  who  are  absolutely  with- 
out so  much  as  an  image  of  God.  Ours  is  the  grave 
responsibility — shall  we  not  rather  say  the  glorious 
privilege  ? — of  sending  the  good  news  of  life  and  im- 
mortality to  those  lying  in  darkness  and  the  shadow 
of  death.  A  great  missionary  once  wrote:  "Whoso- 
ever shall  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord  shall  be 
saved.     How,  then,  shall  they  call  on  Him  in  whom 

first-fruits  the  men  of  the  Creek  tribe  of  American  Indians  used  to 
take,  after  a  prolonged  fast,  the  war-medicine,  being  strong  emetics  and 
drastic  agents,  while  the  women  bathed  and  washed  themselves.  All 
offences,  with  the  exception  of  murder,  were  thus  blotted  out.  It  is 
beyond  question  that  the  idea  of  purification  from  sin  attached  to  these 
ceremonies,  but  especially  to  the  bath  and  the  drinking  of  the  black 
draught,    as   it   was    called,    an   infusion   of  dried   cassine-leaves."  — 

SCHULTZE,  p.  34. 


28  THE   RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

they  have  not  believed  ?  and  how  shall  they  believe  in 
Him  of  whom  they  have  not  heard  ?  and  how  shall 
they  hear  without  a  preacher?  And  how  shall  they 
preach,  except  they  be  sent  ?  as  it  is  written,  How 
beautiful  are  the  feet  of  them  that  preach  the  gospel 
of  peace,  and  bring  glad  tidings  of  good  things !" 

God  help  us  to  know  our  opportunity  and  to  embrace 
it !  From  the  wretched  abodes  of  superstition,  dark- 
ened by  the  overhanging  shadow  of  death,  comes  a 
cry  for  help.     He  that  hath  ears  to  hear,  let  him  hear! 


II. 

THE  RELIGION  OF  ANCIENT 

EGYPT. 


I.    The  Sacred  Books  : 

Forty-five  in  number. 
"  Book  of  the  Dead." 
II.    Theology: 
(i)  God. 

Ammon-Ra  and  the  Divine  Dynasties. 
Zoolatry. 
(2)  Immortality. 
The  ka. 
III.  Morals  : 
Maat. 

The  Religion  of  Sadness. 
Central  Thought  :  Life. 

"  What  shall  I  do  to  be  saved  T     Observe  the  Maat, 


II.    THE  RELIGION   OF  ANCIENT 

EGYPT. 

The  river  Nile,  so  long  hiding  its  source  among 
the  mountains  in  the  interior  of  the  Dark  Continent, 
flows  northward  three  thousand  miles  and  empties 
through  seven  divergent  mouths  into  the  Mediter- 
ranean Sea.  It  is  the  great  life-sustaining  artery  of 
Egypt.  In  September,  at  the  rising  of  the  dog-star, 
its  waters  begin  to  swell,  covering  the  land  with  a 
gradual  inundation,  until  as  the  nilometer  marks  ten, 
twelve  or  fourteen  cubits  the  hearts  of  the  people  are 
gladdened  with  the  sure  hope  of  a  plentiful  harvest. 
For  Egypt  is  merely  a  narrow  strip  of  black  loam 
lying  for  hundreds  of  miles  on  either  side  of  the  river. 

"  The  pulse  of  Egypt  beats  but  once  a  year." 

A  difference  of  six  cubits  in  the  annual  overflow  de- 
termines whether  or  not  the  lean  kine  of  famine  shall 
devour  the  fat.  If  the  nilometer  mark  twelve  cubits, 
after  the  subsidence  of  the  waters  in  November  the 
valley  begins  to  assume  the  appearance  of  a  garden, 
and  is  soon  "  covered  with  verdant  crops,  enameled 
with  flowers  and  interspersed  with  groves  of  luxuriant 
palms." 

The   Nile  is  the  most  historical  of  rivers.     On  its 
banks   Joseph    built   his    granaries    and   watched   the 

31 


32  THE  RELIGIONS  OF   THE    WORLD. 

slow-plying  rafts  that  floated  downward  laden  with 
corn.  In  the  rushes  along  its  edge  was  hidden  away 
the  child  who,  rescued  by  a  king's  daughter,  was  pres- 
ently to  turn  these  waters  into  blood  at  the  behest  of 
an  offended  God.  On  its  still  surface  rocked  the  gilded 
barge  of  Cleopatra  with  its  silken  sails,  and  here,  cen- 
turies afterward.  Napoleon  dreamed  his  vain  dreams 
of  universal  empire. 

A  Land  of  Ruins. — But  the  history-making  days  of 
Egypt  are  past.  It  is  now  a  land  of  solitude  and  decay. 
Thebes,  Karnak,  Dendara,  Memphis — what  visions  of 
golden  splendor  their  names  suggest !  To-day  they 
are  only  sand-swept  ruins.  Yet  the  world  has  no  such 
ruins  elsewhere — temples  carved  out  of  the  solid  rock, 
reached  by  long  avenues  of  sphinxes ;  immense  col- 
umns and  porticos ;  obelisks  towering  high  in  the  air 
and  covered  with  hieroglyphics  depicting  the  mighty 
deeds  of  sovereigns  who  died  before  Abraham  !  What 
think  you  of  an  obelisk  weighing  three  hundred  tons  ? 
or  of  a  monolithic  temple  weighing  not  less  than  five 
thousand  tons,  which  must  have  been  transported  from 
the  mountain-quarries  down  the  entire  length  of  the 
Nile  to  its  delta? 

Egypt  has  been  rightly  named  "  the  wonder-land." 
Her  pyramids,  standing  near  the  ancient  site  of  Mem- 
phis, are  the  oldest  as  well  as  the  most  stupendous  of 
earth's  monuments.  Imagine,  if  you  can,  what  scenes 
have  transpired  within  their  shadow.  When  the  patri- 
arch Jacob  went  down  to  visit  Thebes  he  must  have 
looked  upon  these  very  pyramids  with  wondering  eyes, 
for  they  were  then  already  two  thousand  years  old. 


THE   RELIGION  OF  ANCIENT  EGYPT.  33 

There  they  stand,  tombs  of  history,  with  their  blank, 
immobile  faces  looking  out  upon  the  endless  wastes 
of  Sahara,  as  if  to  say :  "  Behold,  O  eyes  of  the  living, 
the  magnificence  of  past  days !  Boast  not  of  your 
achievements,  for  the  greatest  of  all  is  dead  and  buried 
greatness!"^  In  Dr.  Robinson's  story  of  the  pyramids 
he  confesses  to  a  momentary  disappointment  when  the 
Arab  guides  pointed  them  out  in  the  distance  :  "  But  as 
we  approached  them,  and  looked  upward  along  their 
mountain-sides  to  the  summit,  their  huge  masses 
seemed  to  swell  into  immensity  and  the  idea  of  their 
vastness  was  absolutely  overpowering.  Vain  pride 
of  human  pomp  and  power !  The  monuments  re- 
main unto  this  day  the  wonder  of  all  time,  but  their 
builders,  their  history  and  their  very  names  have  been 
swept  away  in  the  dark  tide  of  oblivion." 

The  Rosetta  Stone  and  its  Revelations. — The  multi- 
tudinous ruins  of  Egypt  are  covered  over  with  inscrip- 
tions, detailing  the  rise  and  fall  of  dynasties  and  the 
mighty  deeds  of  the  Pharaohs.  But  anything  like  an 
exact  interpretation  of  these  was  quite  impossible  until 
the  beginning  of  the  present  century.  In  1799,  while 
a  French  officer,  Champollion,  was  erecting  works  at  a 
place  called  Rosetta,  on  the  Nile,  a  slab  of  black  basalt 
was  dug  up  whereon  was  inscribed  in  parallel  columns 
of  Greek  and  hieroglyphics  a  decree  conferring  divine 
honors  on  Ptolemy  V.,  who  reigned  in  the  second  cen- 
tury B.  C-  The  Greek,  which  was  easy  of  translation, 
afforded  a  means  of  interpreting  the  hieroglyphics. 
Thus  the  key  was  found  by  which  the  treasure-house 

^  Renouf,  Religion  of  Ancieni  Egypt. 
3 


34  THE   RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

of  ancient  Egypt,  locked  for  thousands  of  years,  has 
at  length  been  opened  to  the  light.  Its  pillars  and 
obelisks  no  longer  speak  to  us  in  an  unknown  tongue. 
And  what  are  their  revelations?  As  to  the  civilization 
of  Egypt,  they  portray  her  advancing  torch  in  hand 
when  as  yet  the  nations  universally  were  sitting  in 
darkness  and  the  shadow  of  death.  We  are  coming 
to  think  of  Egypt  as  the  cradle  of  civilization.  The 
more  we  study  her  monuments,  the  less  can  we  glorify 
the  so-called  progressive  spirit  of  modern  times.  Here 
is  "  the  fountain  from  which  the  Assyrian,  the  Greek 
and  the  Hebrew  drank."  "  It  is  certain,"  says  Renouf, 
"  that  at  least  three  thousand  years  before  Christ  there 
was  in  Egypt  a  powerful  and  elaborately  organized 
monarchy,  enjoying  a  material  civilization  in  many 
respects  not  inferior  to  that  of  Europe  in  the  last 
century."  It  was  not  without  reason  that  the  Egyp- 
tian priests  were  wont  to  say  sneeringly  to  the  philos- 
ophers of  Athens,  "  You  Greeks  are  mere  children ; 
you  know  nothing  of  the  past."  The  beginnings  of 
the  culture  and  enlightenment  of  Eg>^pt,  stretching 
back  beyond  all  annals  and  traditions,  are  lost  like  the 
sources  of  her  great  river — in  darkness.  Here  "  was 
nursed  and  educated  that  intellect  which,  receiving  a 
divine  wisdom  from  on  high,  gave  birth  to  the  social 
and  national  institutions  which  have  unfolded  out  of 
their  bosom  the  Christian  Church."  It  is  evident  from 
her  monuments  that  Egypt  in  the  very  dawn  of  her  his- 
toric era  was  far  advanced  in  science,  familiar  with  very 
many  conveniences  which  we  assign  to  the  invent- 
ive genius  of  modern  days,  and  was  not  to  be  despised 


THE   RELIGION  OF  ANCIENT  EGYPT.  35 

in  respect  to  her  literature.  Her  artisans  were  ac- 
quainted with  hydrauHc  engineering.  Rameses  11. 
opened  a  watercourse  between  Bubastes  and  the  Red 
Sea  at  an  expense  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  thou- 
sand lives  and  treasure  incalculable,  which  gave  to  the 
French  engineer  Lesseps  the  suggestion  of  the  Suez 
Canal.  As  to  her  advancement  in  art,  we  may  take 
the  testimony  of  Rawlinson,  who  says,  among  other 
eulogistic'  words :  ^*  The  life-sized  statue  of  Phra- 
Kephren,  discovered  in  the  temple  of  the  Great  Pyra- 
mid, in  its  majestic  simplicity  of  character  will  bear 
comparison  with  that  of  Watt  by  Chantrey  in  West- 
minster Abbey." 

It  is  fortunate  for  the  gratification  of  our  curiosity 
that  the  Egyptians  were  fond  of  writing.  They  cov- 
ered the  walls  of  their  homes,  tombs  and  temples  with 
inscriptions  which  the  dry  air  and  drifting  sands  to- 
gether have  kept  legible  to  this  day.  In  the  marshy 
grounds  along  the  borders  of  the  Nile  grew  the  pap- 
yrus (whence  our  word  paper^^  out  of  which  was  man- 
ufactured a  cheap  parchment,  which,  with  the  reed 
stylus,  made  writing  a  common  art.  Rolls  of  papyrus 
are  unwound  among  the  linen  bands  of  mummies 
whereon  the  red  and  black  characters  are  as  plain 
as  when,  stained  with  tears,  they  were  put  out  of  sight 
long  centuries  ago  with  the  beloved  dead.  From  these 
we  discover  that  the  literature  of  ancient  Egypt  em- 
braced, in  a  wonderful  degree,  the  arts,  sciences  and 
philosophies  of  later  ages.  It  is  difficult  to  realize 
that  the  golden  period  of  Egyptian  letters  was  in  the 
reign  of  the  Pharaoh  of  the  Exodus,  fifteen  centuries 


36       THE   RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

B.  c.  His  palace  was  in  hundred -gated  Thebes,  where 
men  of  genius  ever  found  liberal  patronage.  There 
was  a  great  library  there  over  whose  door  was  written 
"  Dispensary  of  the  Soul."  The  court-librarian,  or 
master  of  the  scrolls,  was  Kagabu  the  elegant,  illus- 
trious as  a  novelist  and  poet.^  There  is  extant  an 
epic  poem  by  Pentaour,  who  may  have  been  the  laur- 
eate of  that  golden  age,  which  celebrates  the  prowess 
of  Rameses  the  Great  in  war.  We  have  also  a  novel 
called  the  Story  of  Tzvo  Brothers,  which  is  probably  the 
oldest  work  of  fiction  in  the  world,  having  been  writ- 
ten by  the  minstrel  Enna  "  for  the  amusement  of  the 
crown-prince,  who  afterward  perished  with  his  host  in 
the  Red  Sea."  There  are  many  other  complete  tales 
and  poems,  as  well  as  historical  documents,  biogra- 
phies and  annals,  copied  from  the  hieroglyphics  on 
temple  walls  or  from  papyrus  preserved  in  mummy 
crypts. 

How  strange  to  read  these  productions — the  "Ro- 
mance of  Setna,"  the  "  Garden  of  Flowers,"  the  "  Tale 
of  the  Doomed  Prince" — knowing  as  we  do  that  they 
represent  the  tears  and  laughter  of  forty  centuries  ago  ! 
Here  are  some  verses  taken  from  a  monumental  tab- 
let found  among  the  ruins  of  Thebes,  and  purporting 
to  have  been  addressed  by  the  god  Amen  or  Amnion 
to  King  Thotmes  HI. : 

"  I  am  come !     To  thee  have  I  given  to  strike  down  Syrian  princes; 
Under  thy  feet  they  lie  throughout  the  breadth  of  their  countiy. 
Like  to  the  Lord  of  light  I  made  them  see  thy  glory, 
Blinding  their  eyes  with  light,  the  earthly  image  of  Amen. 

^  QuACKENBOS's  Oriental  Literature. 


THE  RELIGION  OF  ANCIENT  EGYPT.  If 

*'  I  am  come  !     To  thee  have  I  given  to  strike  down  Asian  people ; 
Captive  now  thou  hast  led  the  proud  Assyrian  chieftains. 
Decked  in  royal  robes,  I  made  them  see  thy  glory, 
All  in  glittering  arms  and  fighting  aloft  in  thy  war-car. 

"  I  am  come !     To  thee  have  I  given  to  strike'down  Libyan  archers; 
All  the  isles  of  the  Greeks  submit  to  the  force  of  thy  spirit. 
Like  a  lion  in  prey  I  made  them  see  thy  glory, 
Couched  by  the  dead  he  has  slain  down  in  the  rocky  valley. 

"  I  am  come !     To  thee  have  I  given  to  strike  down  the  ends  of  the 
ocean ; 
In  the  grasp  of  thy  hand  is  the  circling  zone  of  waters. 
Like  the  soaring  eagle  I  made  them  see  thy  glory. 
Whose  far-seeing  eye  there  is  none  can  hope  to  escape  from."  ^ 

In  this,  a  fair  illustration  of  inscriptions  found  in  the 
sepulchres  of  kings,  we  detect  a  true  poetic  stateli- 
ness.  It  will  be  observed  that  nearly  all  the  literature 
of  Egypt  is  religious  in  its  tone.  The  people  are 
referred  to  by  Herodotus  as  "  surpassing  all  others 
in  the  reverence  they  paid  the  gods."  So  Professor 
Maury  remarks :  "  Ever}^thing  among  them  took  the 
stamp  of  religion.  Their  writing  was  so  full  of  sacred 
symbols  that  it  could  scarcely  be  put  to  any  purely 
secular  use." 

I.  TJie  Sacred  Books. — The  sacred  or  hermetic  books 
of  Egypt,  as  we  are  informed  by  Clement  of  Alexan- 
dria, were  forty-five  in  number.  Though  denominated 
sacred,  they  were  in  great  part  taken  up  with  disquisi- 
tions on  philosophy  and  the  sciences.  One  only  of 
these  books  is  still  extant.  It  is  a  collection  of  prayers 
and  magic  rites  used  in  the  burial  service,  its  title  being 
"  Book  of  the  Dead,"  literally,  "  Book  of  the  peri  em 

^  QUACKENBOS,  Oriental  Literature. 


38  THE  RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

hru ;''  that  is,  of  the  "coming  forth  by  day."  It  is  a 
mythological  work  in  which  the  continuous  theme  is 
the  conflict  between  darkness  and  light.  This  was 
probably  the  most  venerated  of  the  sacred  books, 
for  which  reason  it  was  often  transcribed  on  papyrus 
to  be  wrapped  about  the  embalmed  bodies  of  illus- 
trious or  holy  men.  Here  is  an  extract  from  the  book, 
given  simply  by  way  of  illustration.  (The  soul  is  sup- 
posed to  have  journeyed  through  the  dark  valley  which 
intervenes  between  time  and  eternity,  fighting  its  way 
through  hosts  of  opposing  dragons  and  monsters  of 
evil.  It  then  appears  for  trial  in  the  dreaded  judg- 
ment-hall of  Osiris,  where  the  heart  is  placed  in  an 
immense  balance  and  weighed  against  the  feather  of 
truth.  It  is  at  the  moment  of  its  appearance  in  the 
judgment-hall  that  the  soul  speaks) :  **  O  ye  lords  of 
truth,  let  me  utter  truth.  I  have  privily  done  evil 
against  no  man.  I  have  not  been  idle,  given  to  in- 
toxication nor  unchaste.  I  have  not  exacted  of  the 
laborer  more  than  his  daily  task.  I  have  caused  none 
to  hunger,  made  none  to  weep.  I  have  murdered  none, 
defrauded  none.  I  have  not  eaten  the  sacred  bread  of 
the  temple.  I  have  not  cheated  in  weights  or  measures. 
I  have  not  slandered.  I  have  not  netted  the  sacred 
birds.  I  have  offered  to  the  gods  the  sacrifices  that 
were  their  due.  I  have  given  food  to  the  hungry, 
drink  to  the  thirsty  and  clothes  to  the  naked.  I  am 
pure !  I  am  pure !"  (Happy  would  we  be  if  at  the 
judgment-bar,  with  honest  hearts,  we  might  present 
that  plea,  **  I  am  pure !"  But,  alas  !  in  the  light  of 
our  gospel  who  can  presume  ?) 


THE  RELIGION  OF  ANCIENT  EGYPT.  39 

There  are  fragments  of  another  sacred  book  called 
Shait  en  Sensen,  or  "  Breaths  of  Life,"  which  consisted 
of  thoughts  on  immortality.  Its  precepts  were  wrap- 
ped around  the  mummies  of  priests.  Here  is  a  quo- 
tation : 

**  Hail  to  thee,  departed  one  ! 
Thine  individuality  is  for  ever; 
Thy  body  is  indestmctible ; 
Thy  mummy  doth  germinate. 

Thou  art  not  exiled  from  heaven,  neither  from  earth  j 
Thou  dost  breathe  for  ever. 
Thy  flesh  is  upon  thee 
As  on  thine  earthly  form. 
Thou  dost  eat  and  drink  with  thy  lips ; 
Thou  receivest  bread  with  the  souls  of  the  gods ; 
-^  Thy  soul  doth  breathe  for  ever  and  ever." 

Let  us  inquire  now  as  to  the  distingjiishing  marks  of 
the  religion  of  Egypt.  What  was  its  theology  ?  What 
were  its  forms  of  worship  ?  What  light,  if  any,  did  it 
throw  upon  the  problems  of  the  future  world  ?  What 
were  its  effects  on  personal  character  and  the  conduct 
of  every-day  life  ?  For  by  such  crucial  tests  the  value 
of  all  religions  must  be  known. 

IL  Theology. —  What  did  it  Declare  concerning  God? 
On  this  subject  its  teaching  is  twofold.  It  is  im- 
portant that  we  should  understand  this  at  the  begin- 
ning :  we  are  dealing  with  a  religio  bifrons.  One  face 
it  turns  toward  the  priesthood,  and  another  toward 
the  people.  This  is  scarcely  to  be  wondered  at  when 
we  remember  the  vast  gulf  of  separation  which  lay 
between  the  educated  or  priestly  class  and  the  servile, 
ignorant,  unambitious  masses.     The  former  were  per- 


40  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

mittcd  to  know  and  speculate  concerning  religious 
things  ;  the  latter  were  told  that  God  was  mystery, 
and  that  must  content  them. 

To  the  priestly  mind  God  was,  pre-eminently, 
the  source  and  author  of  life  or  power.  The  general 
name  for  deity  was  mitar,  which,  as  Renouf  argues, 
means  power,  that  being  also  the  meaning  of  the 
Hebrew  el.  "  The  extremely  common  Egyptian  ex- 
pression mitar  mitra  exactly  corresponds  in  sense  to 
the  Hebrew  El  SJiaddai^  the  very  title  by  which  God 
tells  Moses  that  he  was  known  to  the  patriarchs : 
*  And  God  spake  unto  Moses,  and  said  unto  him,  I  am 
Jahve  (or  Jehovah),  and  I  appeared  unto  Abraham, 
unto  Isaac,  and  unto  Jacob  by  the  name  of  ^7  Shaddai, 
but  by  my  name  Jahve  was  I  not  known  to  them.' 
There  can  be  no  doubt  who  that  Power  is  which,  in 
our  translations,  we  do  not  hesitate  to  call  God.  It  is 
unquestionably  the  true  and  only  God,  who  *  is  not  far 
from  any  one  of  us,  for  in  him  we  live  and  move  and 
have  our  being,'  whose  'eternal  power  and  godhead* 
and  government  of  the  world  were  made  known 
through  *  that  Light  which  enlighteneth  every  man 
that  Cometh  into  the  world.'  " 

In  searching  for  an  apt  symbol  it  was  inevitable  that 
the  Egyptians  should  fix  upon  the  sun,  which  is  the 
fountain  of  universal  life  and  power.  On  many  of  the 
monuments  the  deity  is  thus  represented.  The  sym- 
bol was  no  doubt  oftentimes  allowed  to  obscure  the 
idea  of  the  thing  symbolized,  yet  we  cannot  doubt  that 
in  the  philosophy  of  the  Egyptian  priests — that  ar- 
canum of  mysteries  whose  doors  were  open  only  to 


THE   RELIGION   OF  ANCIENT  EGYPT  4I 

the  stoled  and  mitred  few — back  of  all  names  and 
symbols  was  the  thought  of  one  supreme  and  only 
God,  We  find  it  on  the  tomb  of  Rameses,  where  the 
triumphant  king  is  represented  as  declaring,  "Ammon- 
Ra  hath  been  at  my  right  and  left  hand  in  battle.  He 
hath  brought  the  universe  to  my  feet."  So  also  in  the 
name  Nuk-pii-Niik,  found  written  on  embalming-cloths, 
wherein  is  a  wonderful  likeness  to  the  meaning  of  the 
name  Jehovah,  "  I  am  that  I  am."  And  not  less  in 
the  following  hymn,  ascribed  to  the  time  of  the  earliest 
of  the  Pharaohs: 

**  Glory  to  thee,  who  hast  begotten  all  that  is; 
Who  hast  created  man  ; 

Who  hast  made  the  gods  and  all  creatures  of  the  field ; 
^^   Who  makest  man  to  live  ; 

Who  hast  no  being  second  to  thyself! 

Lord  of  generation  !  thou  givest  to  the  living  breath; 

Thou  makest  the  world  to  move  in  its  seasons ; 

Thou  orderest  the  course  of  the  great  river  whose  ways  are  secret; 

Thou  ait  the  Light  of  the  world!" 

Ammon-Ra. — Two  names  were  given  interchange- 
ably to  the  Supreme  One — Ra  and  Ammon  :  sometimes 
they  are  combined  into  a  single  name,  Amn~Ra.  The 
meaning  of  the  word  Ammon  is  concealment.  This  is 
the  face  which  God  turned  toward  the  people.  Ra 
means  the  sun ;  that  is,  God  as  the  author  of  life.  He 
is  represented  as  a  hawk-headed  man,  his  forehead  en- 
circled with  the  solar  disk.  There  are  countless  in- 
ferior deities  also,  bearing  to  Ra  the  same  relation  as 
the  stars  to  the  sun,  borrowing  all  their  splendor  from 
him.^ 

^  "  Ra  is  not  only  the  name  of  the  sun-god ;  it  is  the  usual  word  for 


42       THE   RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

Minor  Gods. — We  are  informed  by  Herodotus  that 
these  subordinate  gods  were  divided  into  various  ranks 
or  orders.  Manetho  speaks  of  them  as  divine  dynas- 
ties. They  were  all  originally  designed  to  represent 
God  in  different  phases  as  the  Creator  of  life.  Here  is 
the  central  thought  of  the  pantheon — life ;  and  this 
must  be  our  clue  to  the  mysteries  of  the  religion  of 
Egypt. 

We  are  accustomed  to  say  of  God  that  he  is  a  Being 
"  without  body,  parts  or  passions."  To  the  Egyptian 
mind  this  was  not  necessary  to  the  conception  of  him. 
Their  gods  had  bodies  ;  they  suffered  from  hunger, 
thirst,  disease  and  old  age.  *'  They  perspired,  their 
limbs  quaked,  their  head  ached,  their  teeth  chattered, 
their  eyes  wept,  their  nose  bled.  They  were  stung  by 
reptiles  and  burnt  by  fire.  They  howled  with  pain  and 
grief"  And  they  were  forced  by  threats  and  impreca- 
tions to  grant  the  prayers  of  men. 

Osiris. — One  of  these  gods,  Osiris,  deserves  a  passing 

sun.  In  other  mythologies  the  sun-god  is  borne  in  a  chariot  or  on  horse- 
back; in  Egypt  his  course  across  the  sky  is  made  in  a  boat.  The  sky 
(Nu)  is  accordingly  conceived  as  an  expanse  of  water,  of  which  the 
Nile  is  the  earthly  representative.  Ra  is  said  to  proceed  from  *  Nu,  the 
father  of  the  gods.'  His  adversary  is  Apap,  who  is  represented  as  a 
serpent  pierced  with  the  weapons  of  the  god.  The  conflict  is  not  be- 
tween good  and  evil,  but  the  purely  physical  one  between  light  and 
darkness.  Shu  and  Tefnut  are  the  children  of  Ra;  Shu  is  air,  and 
Tefnut  is  some  form  of  moisture,  probably  dew. 

"  Whatever  may  be  the  case  in  other  mythologies,  I  look  upon  the 
sunrise  and  sunset,  on  the  daily  returns  of  day  and  night,  on  the  battle 
between  light  and  darkness,  on  the  whole  solar  drama  in  all  its  details, 
that  is  acted  every  day,  every  month,  every  year,  in  heaven  and  in 
earth,  as  the  principal  subject  of  Egyptian  mythology." — Renouf's 
Religion  of  Ancient  Egypt,  p.  113. 


THE  RELIGION  OF  ANCIENT  EGYPT  43 

mention.^  He  is  represented  as  a  mummied  figure  with 
a  crocodile's  head,  wearing  on  either  side  an  ostrich- 
feather,  which  is  the  symbol  of  truth,  and  holding  in 
his  hands  a  shepherd's  crook  and  a  flail.  The  tradi- 
tion is  that  Osiris  came  down  from  heaven  as  an  in- 
carnation of  God  and  reigned  over  Egypt,  conferring 
many  incalculable  benefits  upon  her  people.  But  he 
was  murdered  by  his  enemy,  Typhon,  who  cut  his 
body  in  pieces  and  threw  it  into  the  Nile.  His  faith- 
ful wife  Isis  with  many  tears  sought  these  fragments, 

1 "  The  parents  of  Osiris  are  Seb  and  Nut,  and  about  these  there  can 
be  no  mistake.  Seb  is  the  earth,  and  Nut  is  heaven.  Seb  is  identified 
with  the  earth  in  the  older  texts,  and  in  the  later  ones  'the  back  of 
Seb'  is  a  familiar  term  for  the  earth.  Seb  is  also  the  Egyptian  name 
for  a  certain  species  of  goose,  and  in  accordance  with  the  homonymous 
tendency  of  the  mythological  period  of  all  nations  the  god  and  the  bird 
were  identified  ;  Seb  was  called  '  the  great  cackler,'  and  there  are  traces 
of  the  myth  of  a  'mundane  egg'  which  he  *  divided  '  or  hatched.  Nut 
is  the  name  of  a  female  goddess  frequently  used  synonymously  with  the 
other  names  of  the  sky,  and  she  is  as  frequently  pictured  with  her  arms 
and  legs  extended  over  the  earth,  with  the  stars  spread  over  her  body. 
The  marriage  of  heaven  and  earth  is  extremely  common  in  mythologies  : 
what  is  peculiar  to  the  Egyptian  myth  is  that  earth  is  not  represented  as 
the  mother  of  all  things,  but  the  father,  and  heaven  is  here  the  mother. 
From  the  union  of  Seb  and  Nut  sprang  the  mild  Osiris,  the  sun,  the 
Isis,  the  dawn,  wedded  before  they  were  born,  and  the  fruit  of  their 
marriage  was  Horns,  the  sun  in  his  full  strength.  Set  the  destroyer  is 
also  the  son  of  Seb  and  Nut,  but  his  triumph  is  in  the  west ;  he  is  dark- 
ness, and  his  spouse  Nephthys,  a  deity  of  mixed  character,  is  the  sun- 
set. There  are  traces  of  a  legend  according  to  which  Osiris  mistook 
Nephthys  for  his  wife  Isis.  Nephthys,  who  loved  him,  encouraged  the 
illusion,  and  from  their  embrace  Anubis  was  born.  Anubis,  like  his 
mother,  is  a  deity  of  a  mixed  character,  partly  belonging  to  the  diurnal, 
partly  to  the  nocturnal,  powers.  It  "s  said  of  him  that  *  he  swallowed 
his  father  Osiris.'  I  believe  that  he  represents  the  firelight  or  dusk  im- 
mediately following  the  disappearance  of  the  sun." — The  Religion  of 
Ancient  Egypt,  p.  115. 


44  THE  RELIGIONS   OE  THE    WORLD. 

and  when  they  were  placed  together,  lo !  Osiris  was 
alive  again ;  and  he  hveth  for  evermore,  enthroned  in 
the  judgment-hall  of  the  invisible  world.  This  has 
been  justly  pronounced  "  a  wonderful  forefeeling  of 
the  gospel  narrative " — an  outline,  though  dim,  of 
the  incarnation,  life,  suffering,  vicarious  death,  resur- 
rection and  exaltation  of  Jesus  the  Christ. 

Mystciy. — But  this  truth,  in  common  with  all  the 
spiritual  truths  that  centred  in  the  pantheon  of  Egypt, 
was  only  for  the  initiated :  "  This  is  the  hidden  mys- 
tery. Tell  it  to  no  one ;  let  it  be  seen  by  no  eye,  heard 
by  no  ear.  Only  thou  and  thy  teacher  shall  possess 
the  knowledge  of  it."  Before  this  holy  of  holies  hung 
a  veil  which  priests  only  might  draw  aside,  and  which 
never,  like  the  curtain  of  Zion's  holy  place,  was  torn 
in  twain.  "  What  is  God  ?"  the  people  asked.  And 
the  keepers  of  the  oracles  answered,  "  Mystery." — 
**  And  what  is  truth  ?"— "  Mystery."—"  And  what  lies 
beyond  the  threshold  of  the  eternal  world  ?" — "  Mys- 
tery. It  is  not  given  unto  you  to  know.  Bow  down 
with  closed  lips  before  your  appointed  gods."  Says 
James  Freeman  Clarke :  "  The  priesthood  enveloped 
in  mystery  every  truth,  just  as  they  swathed  the 
mummies  fold  above  fold  in  preparing  them  for  the 
tomb."  Not  always  can  even  we,  on  whom  the  light 
with  its  healing  beams  has  arisen,  solve  the  problems 
of  the  spiritual  world; 

"  No  victory  comes  of  all  our  strife; 

From  all  we  grasp  the  meaning  slips; 
The  Sphinx  sits  at  the  gate  of  life 

With  the  old  question  on  her  awful  lips;" 


THE  RELIGION  OF  ANCIENT  EGYPT.  45 

but  to  the  Egyptians  the  very  foundations  of  truth  were 
shrouded  in  darkness.  The  eyes  of  the  people,  dying 
in  their  sins,  were  so  holden  that  they  saw  not  the  God 
who  stood  beside  them  with  the  balm  of  Gilead  in 
his  hands.  *'  I  do  not  know,"  says  a  recent  writer,^ 
"  whether  it  has  ever  struck  you,  as  you  look  into  the 
faces  of  the  Egyptian  images  at  the  museum,  that  they 
are  full  of  wonder  and  awe — as  children  amazed  at 
something  that  holds  them  in  its  spells,  rather  than  as 
men  of  intellect  and  resolution  who  see  the  mystery, 
but  are  minded  to  explore  it  or  die."  The  same  won- 
dering and  far-off  look  is  seen  even  upon  the  face  of 
the  immovable  Sphinx  and  in  the  grim  features  of  the 
rams  that  line  the  avenues  of  the  temples.  The  pyra- 
mids point  up  to  heaven  as  if  to  say,  "  We  are  search- 
ing for  it,"  and  the  labyrinths  wind  in  and  out  among 
crypts  and  silent  vaults  as  if  to  say,  "  Thou  shalt  never 
find  it."  The  Nile  seems  with  its  sluggish  flow  to  mur- 
mur, "  I  am  the  god  of  this  valley,  the  producer  of  its 
life,  first-born  of  the  sun,  which  is  the  fountain ;  yet 
thou  knowest  not  whence  I  came;  my  source  and  over- 
flow alike  are  wrapped  in  darkness,  and  I  am  the  genius 
of  Egypt." 

Zoolatry. — What,  then,  did  the  people  worship  ?  Not 
the  sun,  and  certainly  not  the  unseen  principle  of  life 
of  which  the  sun  and  stars  were  but  luminous  shad- 
ows. Nay,  they  worshiped  whatever  the  priests  were 
pleased  to  set  before  them ;  and,  mindful  of  the  look 
upon  the  Sphinx's  face,  they  asked  no  questions.  The 
priests   said,   "  We  are  the  custodians   of  the  higher 

1  Baldwin  Brown. 


46       THE   RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

modes  of  truth ;  they  are  not  for  you.  Be  content 
to  know  that  God  is  hfe,  and  whosoever  worships  hfe 
in  any  form  worships  him.  Look  about  you  on  the 
towering  palm,  the  growing  barley,  the  leek  and  the 
onion :  there  is  life  in  all.  Or  go  down  to  the  river : 
the  ibis  is  there  and  the  crocodile,  the  lizard  and  the 
snake.  These  be  your  gods !"  In  this  manner  the 
people  came  to  worship  trees  and  birds  and  every 
living  thing  that  creepeth  upon  the  face  of  the  earth, 
and  Egypt  became  the  land  of  zoolatry.  Among  these 
living  things,  which  her  people  regained  with  reverence 
because  they  conceived  them  to  be!  manifestations  of 
the  divine  life,  were,  notably,  the  biull,  the  Mendesian 
ram,  the  luminous-eyed  cat,  the  crocodile,  the  serpent 
and  the  ibis.  These  all  received  divine  honors  and 
were  embalmed  by  the  priests.  The  chiefest  of  them 
was  the  bull  Apis,  representing  life  in  its  highest  form 
as  the  productive  force  of  nature.  A  few  years  ago 
an  arched  gallery  two  thousand  feet  long  was  discov- 
ered near  Memphis  filled  with  the  mummies  of  sacred 
bulls.  It  will  readily  be  imagined  that  the  worship  of 
this  god  was  celebrated  with  rites  of  a  most  obscene 
character.  And,  indeed,  if  the  entire  Egyptian  cere- 
monial could  be  described  or  reproduced  before  us,  we 
would  turn  away  in  shame  and  confusion  of  face ;  for 
of  all  the  great  religions  of  the  world  this  is  the  most 
abject: 

Picture  a  man  of  Egypt,  burdened  with  a  sense  of 
wrong-doing  and  urged  on  by  a  vague  desire  for  recon- 
ciliation with  an  offended  Deity,  visiting  one  of  the 
temples  of  his  national  faith.     By  a  vast  avenue  of 


THE   RELIGION  OF  ANCIENT  EGYPT.  47 

sphinxes  he  reaches  a  portico  of  massive  monolithic 
columns.  He  hears  afar  off  weird  strains  of  music ; 
the  air  is  heavy  with  floating  incense ;  processions  of 
shaven  priests  pass  silently  by.  As  he  adv^ances  among 
innumerable  statues  of  grotesque  divinities  the  avenues 
grow  narrower,  the  figures  less  colossal.  He  passes 
out  of  one  great  columned  chamber  into  another,  each 
less  imposing  than  the  former.  At  length  he  finds 
himself  in  a  narrow  cell ;  this  is  the  adytum,  or  holiest 
of  all.  And  yonder,  in  the  dim  light,  he  discovers  the 
gleaming  eyes  of  a  cynocephalous  ape  or  of  a  mum- 
mied cat,  or  mayhap  it  is  nothing  but  an  onion.  These 
be  thy  gods,  O  son  of  the  Pharaohs ! 

I  say,  man  bowing  at  such  an  idol  shrine  as  this  has 
reached  his  most  utter  degradation.  It  matters  not 
what  spiritual  truth  may  lie  at  the  basis  of  his  wor- 
ship; here  is  an  immortal  soul  brutalized  and  lower 
than  the  creeping  thing  it  worships,  for  it  is  a  true 
saying  that  no  worshiper  is  ever  better  than  his  god. 

"  Who  does  not  know,"  asks  Juvenal  in  one  of  his 
satires,  "  what  kinds  of  monsters  demented  Egypt  wor- 
ships ?  One  part  adores  the  crocodile,  another  quakes 
before  the  ibis  gorged  with  serpents.  The  golden  image 
of  a  sacred  long-tailed  ape  glitters  where  the  magic 
chords  resound  from  mutilated  Memnon,  and  ancient 
Thebes  lies  in  ruin  with  her  hundred  gates.  There 
whole  towns  venerate  cats,  here  a  river  fish,  there  a  dog, 
but  no  one  Diana.  It  is  impiety  to  violate  and  break 
with  the  teeth  the  leek  and  onion.  O  holy  races  to 
whom  such  deities  as  these  are  born  in  their  gardens  !"  ^ 

1  Renouf. 


48       THE   RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

IinDioriality. — Let  us  not  conclude,  however,  that 
there  was  nothing  good  or  wholesome  in  the  religion 
of  Egypt.  It  spoke  with  no  uncertain  voice  concern- 
ing the  great  doctrine  of  immortality  and  judgment 
after  death.  The  very  architecture  of  the  Pyramids 
had  its  creed  ;  no  man  can  look  upon  their  massive- 
ness  without  the  conviction  that  its  builders  hoped  to 
live  for  ever.  The  lotus-flower  opening  with  the  early 
sun,  and  the  phcenix  rising  from  its  ashes,  teach  more 
beautifully  than  any  formulated  dogma  the  resurrection 
of  the  body.  And  why  should  the  Egyptians  have  so 
carefully  embalmed  their  dead,  wrapping  them  in  spices 
that  have  warded  off  the  tooth  of  time  during  these 
forty  centuries,  had  not  they  believed  that  the  soul 
was  destined  to  reanimate  them? 

They  conceived  of  this  present  life  as  the  mere  vesti- 
bule of  the  endless  one.  Diodorus  says:  "The  Egyp- 
tians call  their  houses  hostelries,  on  account  of  the 
short  time  during  which  they  inhabit  them,  but  the 
tombs  they  call  eternal  dwelling-places."  Renouf,  com- 
menting upon  this  remark  of  Diodorus,  says :  "  The 
latter  part  of  it  is  strictly  and  literally  true :  pa  feta^ 
'  eternal  dwelling-place,'  is  an  expression  which  is  met 
with  at  every  instant  in  the  inscriptions  of  the  earliest 
periods  descriptive  of  the  tomb.  The  word  anchiii, 
which  literally  signifies  the  *  living,'  is  in  innumerable 
places  used  emphatically  for  the  *  departed,'  who  are 
enjoying  everlasting  life.  The  notion  of  everlasting 
life,  ancJi  feta,  is  among  the  few  words  written  upon 
the  wooden  coffin,  now  in  the  British  Museum,  of 
King   Mykerinos   of  the  third  pyramid.      Neb  anch^ 


THE   RELIGION  OF  A  NCI  EXT  EGYPT.  49 

*  lord  of  life,'  is  one  of  the  names  given  to  the  sar- 
cophagus. In  the  very  ancient  inscription  of  Una 
the  coffin  is  called  hen  en  ancJiiu,  *  the  chest  of  the 
living.'  It  is  only  evil  spirits  who  are  spoken  of  in 
the  sacred  writings  of  the  Egyptians  as  *  the  dead.' " 
It  is  obvious  from  this,  that  whatever  other  virtues 
were  lacking  in  this  religion,  it  did  give  a  due  promi- 
nence to  the  doctrine  of  life  beyond  death,  as  certain 
of  our  own  poets  have  written: 

"  To  die  is  to  begin  to  live :  it  is  to  end 
An  old,  stale,  weary  work,  and  to  commence 
A  newer  and  a  better  :  'tis  to  leave 
Deceitful  knaves  for  the  society 
Of  gods  and  goodness." 

^The  Snten-Jiotep-ta. — The  usual  inscription  over  the 
lintel  of  the  tomb  is  this  :  **  A  royal  table  of  propitiation 
grant-Anubis,  who  dwells  within  the  divine  house.  May 
sepulture  be  granted  in  the  nether  world,  in  the  land 
of  the  divine  Menti,  the  good,  the  great,  to  the  de- 
parted one  who  is  faithful  to  the  great  God  !"  On 
later  tombs  the  inscription  is  as  follows :  "  A  royal 
table  of  propitiation  grant  Osiris,  dwelling  in  Amenti, 
lord  of  Abydos.  May  he  grant  the  funeral  oblations, 
bread,  beer,  oxen,  geese,  wine,  milk,  oil,  incense,  wrap- 
pings, all  gifts  of  vegetation,  whatever  heaven  gives  or 
earth  produces,  to  enjoy  the  Nile,  to  come  forth  as  a 
living  soul,  to  come  in  and  go  out  at  the  Ristat,  that 
the  soul  may  not  be  repulsed  at  the  gates  of  the  nether 
world,  to  be  glorified  among  the  favored  ones  in  pres- 
ence of  Un-nefer,  to  receive  the  aliments  on  the  altars 

of  the  great  God,  to  breathe  the  delicious  breezes  of 
4 


^ 


50       THE  RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

the  north  wind,  and  to  drink  from  the  depth  of  the 
river."  ^ 

This  prayer  for  the  dead  was  called  the  Suten-hotep- 
ta  ;  it  was  the  Paternoster  of  the  Egyptian  ritual,  and 
was  supposed  to  have  been  given  by  divine  revelation. 
The  most  meritorious  of  works  was  to  repeat  a  consid- 
erable number  of  Suteii-hoiep-tas  in  behalf  of  the  de- 
parted.^ In  the  moral  writings  great  stress  was  placed 
upon  the  service  in  behalf  of  the  dead.  Among  the 
Maxims  of  Ani  it  is  written :  "  Give  the  water  of  the 
funeral  sacrifice  to  thy  father  and  mother  who  repose 
in  the  tomb;  renew  the  water ^  of  the  divine  oblations. 

1  Renouf.  * 

2  "  Innumerable  inscriptions  call  upon  the  passers-by  to  invoke  the 
gods  in  behalf  of  the  departed :  '  O  all  ye  who  are  living  upon  earth,' 
*  who  love  life  and  hate  death,'  *  you  who  are  in  the  service  of  Osiris  or 
Anubis,'  *  priest,  prophet,  scribe,  spondist,  ministrant,  male  or  female, 
every  man  and  eveiy  woman,  passing  by  this  tomb,  tablet,  statue,  orshrine, 
whether  you  be  passing  northward  or  southward, — as  you  desire  to 
enjoy  the  favor  of  the  king,  or  as  you  desire  your  name  to  remain  upon 
earth  or  to  transmit  your  dignities  to  your  children,  or  as  you  love  and 
obey  the  gods  of  Egypt,  or  as  you  wish  to  be  blessed  by  the  gods  of 
your  cities,  or  by  your  wish  to  possess  a  part  of  the  divine  abode  of 
Osiris  who  dwells  in  Amenti,  or  to  be  faithful  to  the  great  God,  or  as 
you  wish  to  flourish  upon  earth  and  pass  on  to  the  blessed, — say  a 
Suten-hotep-ta,'  etc.  (Here  follows  the  entire  formula  of  the  Suten- 
hotep-ta.)" — The  Religion  of  Ancient  Egypt,  p.  143. 

3  "  The  lustral  water  offered  on  earth  to  the  dead  had  its  counterpart 
in  the  other  world.  The  most  usual  representation  of  this  is  the  picture 
in  which  the  goddess  Nut  pours  out  the  water  of  life  to  the  deceased 
from  the  interior  of  a  sycamore  tree.  In  a  picture  published  by  M.  Chabas 
the  deceased  kneels  before  Osiris  and  receives  from  him  the  water  of  life 
from  a  vessel  under  which  is  written  anch  ba,  '  that  the  soul  may  live.' 
The  picture  is  taken  from  the  mummy  of  a  priest  who  lived  twelve 
hundred  years  before  Christ,  But  the  same  idea  occurs  in  a  Greek 
inscription  found  at  Saqara  by  Mr.  C.  Wescher.     *  She  lived  twenty- 


THE   RELIGION  OF  ANCIENT  EGYPT  51 

Neglect  not  to  do  it  even  when  thou  art  away  from  thy 
dwelling.    Thy  son  will  do  it  in  like  manner  for  thee." 

Retribution. — On  many  of  the  tombs  are  pictured  the 
scales  of  judgment — a  human  heart  in  one  side,  a  feather 
in  the  other,  while  the  god  Anubis  stands  by  watching. 
Here  is  plainly  the  doctrine  of  retribution :  "  For  we 
must  all  appear  before  the  judgment-seat,  that  every 
one  may  receive  according  to  that  he  hath  done, 
whether  it  be  good  or  bad."  It  was  not  lawful  to 
bury  the  dead  until  sentence  had  been  passed  upon 
their  character  by  a  board  of  forty-two  assessors  (this 
being  the  number  of  classified  sins),  who  must  deter- 
mine whether  they  were  worthy  of  a  resting-place  in 
the  sepulchre.  If  not,  their  mummies  were  placed  on 
the  margin  of  the  lake,  "  their  culprit  ghosts  waiting 
and  wandering  along  its  shores  for  a  hundred  years." 
And  this  was  but  an  earnest  of  a  more  solemn  trial 
which  awaited  every  one  in  the  shadowy  regions  of 
Amenti. 

The  Ka. — A  curious  feature  of  the  Egyptian  religion 
was  its  doctrine  of  the  ka.  A  man  was  regarded  as 
having  a  double  personality.  His  alter  ego,  or  spiritual 
double,  was  called  his  ka.  By  this  he  swore,  as  the 
Roman  by  his  genius  and  the  Persian  by  his  fravashi. 
On  the  monuments  of  Egypt  the  royal  ka  is  repre- 
sented close  beside  the  king  himself  The  worshiper 
was  accustomed  to  offer  sacrifice  to  the  kau  of  the 
dead.  The  common  belief  was  that  the  disembodied 
personality  of  each  individual  on  being  ushered  into 

five  years,'  the  inscription  says,  *  and  Osiris  beneath  the  earth  gave  her 
the  refreshing  water.'  " — Ibid.,  p.  147. 


52       THE   RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

the  unknown  world  was  provided  with  a  substantial 
body,  and  at  once  entered  upon  pursuits  which  were 
strikingly  similar  to  those  of  this  present  life. 

Heaven. — The  life  of  the  blessed  is  thus  described : 
"  He  has  the  use  of  all  his  limbs ;  he  eats  and  drinks, 
and  satisfies  every  one  of  his  physical  wants  exactly 
as  in  his  former  life.  His  bread  is  made  of  the  corn  of 
Pe,  a  famous  town  of  Egypt,  and  the  beer  he  drinks  is 
from  the  red  corn  of  the  Nile.  The  flesh  of  cattle  and 
fowl  is  given  to  him,  and  refreshing  waters  afepoured 
out  to  him  under  the  boughs  of  sycamores  which 
shade  him  from  the  heat.  The  cool  breezes  of  the 
north  wind  breathe  upon  him.  The  gods  themselves 
provide  him  with  food;  he  eats  from  the  table  of  Osiris 
at  Ristat  and  from  the  tables  of  the  sun-god  Ra.  He 
is  given  to  drink  out  of  vessels  of  milk  or  wine;  cakes, 
and  flesh  are  provided  for  him  from  the  divine  abode 
of  Anubis.  The  gods  of  Heliopolis  themselves  bring 
the  divine  offerings.  He  eats  the  bread  which  the 
goddess  Tait  has  cooked,  and  he  breathes  the  sweet 
odors  of  flowers.  He  washes  his  feet  in  silver  basins 
which  the  god  Ptah  of  Memphis,  the  inventor  of  all 
arts,  has  himself  sculptured.  Fields  also  are  allotted 
to  him  in  the  lands  of  Aarru  and  Hotep,  and  he  culti- 
vates them.  It  is  characteristic  of  an  industrious  and 
agricultural  population  that  part  of  the  bliss  of  a  future 
state  should  consist  of  such  operations  as  ploughing 
and  hoeing,  sowing  and  reaping,  rowing  on  the  canals 
and  collecting  the  harvests  daily.  We  are  told  that  the 
height  of  corn  in  the  fields  of  Aarru  is  seven  cubits, 
and  that  the  length  of  the  ears  is  two  cubits.     This 


THE   RELIGION  OF  ANCIENT  EGYPT.  53 

blissful  place  is  surrounded  by  a  wall  of  steel,  and  it  is 
from  its  gate  that  the  sun  comes  forth  in  the  eastern 
sky."  ^ 

Hell. — Should  the  ka,  or  soul,  of  an  Egyptian  fail  to 
secure  a  favorable  verdict  at  the  court  of  Osiris,  it 
wanders  forth  into  Tuat,  the  nether  world,  to  en- 
counter and  be  overcome  by  a  thousand  calamities, 
such  as  "  being  turned  away  from  its  own  door," 
breathing  a  fiery  atmosphere,  going  to  Nemmat,  the 
headsman's  block,  being  forced  to  eat  filth  and  suffer- 
ing corruption.  The  comprehensive  title  of  these  is 
"  the  second  death." 

The  kau  of  the  departed  were  enabled  to  defend 
themselves  from  the  dangers  of  the  nether  world  only 
by  the  use  of  charms  and  talismans.  Hence  the  cus- 
tom of  covering  the  mummies  with  cabalistic  phrases 
and  images  of  animal  gods.  Such  words  as  the  fol- 
lowing are  frequently  found  inscribed  upon  the  tomb : 
"  Back,  crocodile  of  the  west !  there  is  an  asp  upon 
me ;  I  shall  not  be  given  to  thee.  Dart  not  thy  flame 
upon  me  !"  There  was  supposed  to  be  great  virtue  in 
a  golden  asp  or  scarabseus  or  a  buckle  of  red  quartz 
typifying  the  blood  of  Isis. 

Assimilation  with  the  Gods. — The  doctrine  of  im- 
mortality, as  held  by  the  priests,  was  to  this  effect : 
that  when  a  man  dies  and  becomes  inaa-cherii,  or 
justified,  by  safely  passing  the  ordeal  of  judgment,  he 
is  identified  or  assimilated  in  some  mysterious  way 
with  Deity  itself  In  some  cases,  indeed,  he  is  assim- 
ilated with  many  gods,  taking  the  hair  of  one,  the  eyes 

1  Renouf. 


54       THE  RELIGIONS  OF  THE    WORLD. 

of  another,  the  hps  of  a  third,  and  so  becoming  a  sort 
of  animated  pantheon ;  and  all  this  without  losing  his 
personal  identity.  He  still  remembers  his  former  life 
among  men,  and  from  his  place  in  the  mummy  crypt, 
assuming  the  name  of  some  beneficent  god,  he  speaks 
comfortable  things  to  his  mourning  friends. 

It  was  held  also  among  the  initiated  that  the  dead 
have  power  to  assume  all  kinds  of  living  shapes,  as 
the  turtle-dove,  the  serpent,  the  hawk,  the  crocodile, 
the  heron,  the  lotus-flower,  and  in  such  strange  guise 
to  range  the  universe  at  will. 

**  What  shall  I  Do  to  be  Saved  .^"— The  thought  of  sal- 
vation, as  held  among  Christian  people,  had  little  or 
no  place  in  this  religion.  Mercy  was  an  unknown 
word ;  there  was  no  forgiveness  with  the  gods.  The 
sum  and  substance  of  the  doctrine  of  destiny  was  this : 
"  Whatsoever  a  man  soweth,  that  shall  he  also  reap." 
If  one  would  reach  the  land  of  Amenti  and  abide  in 
peace,  let  him  hold  himself  in  readiness  to  have  his 
heart  weighed  against  the  feather  of  truth.  The  only 
answer  possible  to  a  sinner's  cry,  "  What  shall  I  do  to 
be  saved?"  was  this:  "Prepare  for  the  judgment  of 
Osiris  by  observing  the  rules  of  right  conduct." 

Morality. — It  remains  for  us  to  note  briefly  the  in- 
fluence of  this  religion  on  the  character  of  the  people. 
They  were  familiar  with  a  rule  of  right  living  called 
maat.  O 

Maat. — This  word,  which  is  of  frequent  occurrence, 
signifies  "  a  perfectly  straight  and  inflexible  rule."  It 
is  from  the  root  via,  meaning  to  stretch  out,  and,  like 
our  word  right,  has  reference  primarily  to  law  and 


THE   RELIGION  OE  ANCIENT  EGYPT.  55 

order.  "  Maat,'  says  Renouf,  *' is  Law,  not  in  the 
forensic  sense  of  command  issued  either  by  a  human 
sovereign  authority  or  by  a  divine  legislator,  like  the 
law  of  the  Hebrews,  but  in  the  sense  of  that  unerring 
order  which  governs  the  universe,  whether  in  its  phys- 
ical or  in  its  moral  aspect.  This  is  surely  a  great  and 
noble  conception." 

An  Elaborate  Code. — But  beyond  this  the  Egyptians 
had  an  elaborate  code  of  injunctions  and  prohibitions 
as  to  particular  sins.  "  Besides  the  crimes  of  violence 
and  theft,  different  offences  against  chastity  are  men- 
tioned ;  not  only  evil-speaking  and  lying,  but  exag- 
geration, chattering  and  idle  words,  are  condemned; 
he  who  reviles  the  king,  his  father  or  his  god,  the  evil 
listener,  and  he  who  turns  a  deaf  ear  to  the  words  of 
truth  and  justice,  he  who  causes  pain  to  another  or 
who  in  his  heart  thinks  meanly  of  God, — all  these  fail 
to  satisfy  the  condition  of  admission  into  the  ranks  of 
the  triumphant  dead."  ^ 

The  Maxims  of  PtaJi-hotep. — One  of  the  sacred  books, 
a  fragment  of  which  is  preserved  in  the  Imperial  Li- 
brary at  Paris,  was  an  extended  treatise  on  practical 
morality.  It  purports  to  have  been  written  by  Prince 
Ptah-hotep,  whose  sayings  partake  less  of  the  wisdom 
of  Solomon  than  of  the  rude  sagacity  of  Poor  Richard. 

"  The  man  is  happy,"  wrote  he,  "  who  lives  upon  his 
own  labor." 

"  Love  thy  wife ;  flattery  will  serve  thy  purpose  with 
her  better  than  churlish  words." 

"  Curse  not  thy  master  before  God." 

^  Renouf. 


$6  THE  RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

"  The  bad  man's  life  is  nothing  better  than  death." 

"  What  we  say  in  secret  is  known  to  Him  who 
created  us." 

"  Gossip  is  abominable." 

"  Walk  not  with  a  fool." 

Aside  from  this  volume  of  proverbial  philosophy- 
there  were  thirty  commandments,  of  which  no  traces 
remain.  Thus  the  Egyptians  were  not  without  lights 
to  walk  by. 

M.  Chabas  says  of  the  Egyptian  code  of  morals : 
*'  None  of  the  Christian  virtues  were  forgotten  in  it. 
Piety,  charity,  gentleness,  self-command  in  word  and 
action,  chastity,  the  protection  of  the  weak,  benev- 
olence toward  the  humble,  deference  to  superiors, 
respect  for  property  in  the  minutest  details, — all  were 
expressed  there."  In  the  "  Book  of  the  Dead  "  the 
soul  of  the  righteous  is  represented  as  saying,  "  I  did 
that  which  was  right  and  hated  the  wrong ;  I  was  bread 
to  the  hungry,  water  to  the  thirsty,  clothes  to  the 
naked,  a  refuge  to  the  needy ;  and  that  which  I  did 
unto  him  the  great  Ra  hath  done  unto  me."  ^  It 
must  be  remembered,  however,  that  the  moral  precepts 
of  any  people  are  always  better  than  their  practical 
morals  ;  their  sacred  books  are  better  than  their  lives. 

No  Egyptian  Heroes. — It  is  a  notable  fact  that  Egypt 
had  no  heroes.  The  religion  of  the  Bull  and  the  Ibis 
could  not  but  beget  in  its  disciples  a  gross  animal  life. 
The  poor  labored  for  meat ;  the  rich  and  learned  had 
their  ambition  smothered  in  wanton  luxuries.  Other 
empires   have  left    us    great   men  who,   though   their 

*  Renouf. 


THE  RELIGION  OF  ANCIENT  EGYPT.  ^7 

graves  are  forgotten,  still  tread  the  earth  with  stately 
steppings ;  but  Rameses  and  Sesostris  are  names  and 
nothing  more.^  Their  souls  were  wrapped  up  with 
their  bodies  in  mummy-cloths  and  laid  away  in  end- 
less rest.  There  was  nothing  in  their  religion  to  stim- 
ulate the  doing  of  immortal  deeds. 

T/ie  Religion  of  Sadness. — Another  significant  fact  is 
this :  that  while  the  Egyptians  were  the  most  mirthful 
people  on  earth,  they  were  the  saddest  of  worshipers. 
Apuleius  says :  ^  "  The  gods  of  Greece  rejoice  in 
dances,  but  the  gods  of  Egypt  in  lamentations."  And 
another  says :  "  The  Egyptians  offer  tears  on  the  altars 
of  their  gods."  Is  not  this  the  old  story  of  the  golden 
calf?  They  who  worship  Apis  must  ever  drink  the 
dust  of  their  idol  mingled  with  bitter  waters.  There 
is  no  spiritual  joy  save  in  the  worship  of  that  Supreme 
One  at  whose  right  hand  are  pleasures  for  evermore. 

An  illustrious  lady,  the  wife  of  Pasherenptah,  is 
represented  as  thus  addressing  her  husband  from  the 
grave :  "  O  my  brother,  my  spouse,  forbear  not  to  eat 
and  drink,  to  drain  the  cup  of  joy,  to  enjoy  woman's 
love  and  make  holiday  of  life ;  for  as  to  Amenti,  it  is 
the  land  of  slumber  and  darkness,  an  abode  of  sorrow 

1  "  All  the  kings  of  the  nations  lie  in  glory ; 
Cased  in  cedar  and  shut  in  a  sacred  gloom ; 
Swathed  in  linen  and  precious  unguents  old. 
Painted  with  cinnabar  and  rich  with  gold. 

Silent  they  rest,  in  solemn  salvatory, 
Sealed  from  the  moth  and  the  owl  and  the  flittermouse — 
Each  with  his  name  on  his  brow." 

Jean  Ingelow, 

2  Quoted  by  James  Freeman  Clarke. 


58  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

for  all.  We  wake  no  more  to  see  our  loved  ones. 
The  dwellers  on  earth  have  waters  of  life,  but  thirst 
is  for  ever  with  me.  I  weep  for  the  waters  that  pass 
by."  ^ 

The  religion  of  Egypt  is  dead.  It  has  utterly  van- 
ished from  the  face  of  the  earth.  "  On  the  walls  of 
her  tombs,"  says  Draper,  "still  remain  Pthah  the 
Creator  and  Neph  the  divine  spirit  sitting  at  the 
potter's  wheel  turning  clay  into  the  forms  of  men; 
and  Athor,  who  receives  the  setting  sun  into  her 
arms.     The  granite  statues  have  outlived  the  gods." 

From  this,  as  from  other  false  systems,  we  turn 
with  a  feeling  of  ineffable  relief  to  the  glorious  gos- 
pel of  the  blessed  God.  Here  is  no  worship  of  birds 
and  four-footed  beasts  and  creeping  things.  Here  is 
no  mystery  along  the  path  that  leads  to  eternal  life. 
Nay,  it  is  so  plain  that  the  wayfaring  man  need  not 
err  therein.  What  simplicity  is  here,  and  yet  what 
grandeur !  A  cross,  an  open  sepulchre,  a  God  with 
outstretched  hands.  For  God  so  loved  the  world  that 
he  gave  his  only-begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  be- 
lieveth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting 
life.  This  is  that  great  "  mystery  of  godliness,"  deeper 
and  more  wonderful  than  any  behind  the  veil  of  Isis, 
which  God  in  Jesus  Christ  has  revealed  to  the  least 
of  his  little  ones. 

1  Renouf. 


III. 

ZOROASTRIANISM. 


I.   The  Sacred  Book  : 
Zend-Avesta. 
The  Poets. 
II.    The  Ceiitral  Thought: 
Dualism. 

Ormuzd  and  Ahriman. 
Prayer. 
III.    Three  Distijiguishing  Features: 
(i)  Fire-worship. 

(2)  The  Idea  of  Conflict.  /P        P  A  "  \) 

Moral  Code  :  The  Four  Laws.  lt<^  J  ^  ^  ^  |C^^<M>^  ^ 

(3)  The  Fravashis ;  Philosophy  of  the  Future. 

* '  What  shall  I  do  to  be  saved  f '   Repeat  the  Patet. 


III.  ZOROASTRIANISM, 

THE    RELIGION    OF    ANCIENT    PERSIA. 

"  And  behold  there  came  wise  men  from  the  east  to 
Jerusalem,  saying,  Where  is  he  that  is  born  king  of 
the  Jews?  for  we  have  seen  his  star  in  the  east,  and 
are  come  to  worship  him."  These  "  wise  men  "  were 
Magi,  or  fire-worshipers.  It  is  their  religion  which 
is  now  to  engage  our  attention.  We  turn  our  eyes 
toward  Persia,  the  most  magnificent  of  empires,  sym- 
bolized by  the  silver  breast  of  the  great  Babylonian 
image.  What  memories  are  awakened  by  her  name ! 
Years  have  not  dimmed  the  crowns  of  Cyrus,  Xerxes 
and  Longimanus,  or  of  the  beautiful  queen  who 
reigned  in  Shushan,  the  palace  of  the  lily.  Max 
Miiller  says :  "  There  were  periods  in  the  history  of 
the  world  when  the  religion  of  Zoroaster  threatened 
to  rise  triumphant  on  the  ruins  of  the  temples  of  all 
other  gods.  If  in  the  battles  of  Marathon  and  Salamis 
Greece  had  succumbed  to  Persia,  the  state  religion  of 
the  empire  of  Cyrus  might  have  become  the  religion 
of  the  whole  civilized  world."  But  there  is  no  room 
for  any  "  if"  History  is  not  a  fabric  gf  happenings. 
All  its  events  are  singly  spun  and  woven  together  in 
the  loom  of  Providence.  The  Weaver  breaks  no 
threads,  loses  none,  misweaves  none. 

61 


62       THE   RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

Of  Persepolis,  the  wonder  of  the  world  for  its  mag- 
nificence, naught  remains  save  heaps  of  ruins.  "  The 
spider  hangs  her  veil  undisturbed  in  the  halls  of  Kai 
Kosrou,  the  owl  stands  sentinel  on  Haroun-al-Ras- 
chid's  fallen  palace-towers,  the  dromedary  browses  in 
the  lonesome  gardens  of  Babylon." 

A  Dead  Religion. — And  the  religion  of  Zoroaster  has 
shared  the  doom  of  the  great  empire  that  espoused  it. 
What  can  be  sadder  than  the  thought  of  a  dead  religion  ? 
We  lament  the  lost  arts ;  we  stand  regretful  among  the 
crumbling  porches  of  old  systems  of  philosophy ;  we 
read  not  unmoved  the  epitaphs  of  fallen  thrones  and 
dynasties.  These,  however,  are  merely  losses  to  the 
world's  material  possessions.  But  the  decay  of  a  re- 
ligion involves  the  ruin  of  countless  inestimable  hopes 
and  incalculable  destinies.  It  is  as  if  a  costly-laden 
ship  went  down  with  immortal  souls  clinging  to  every 
rope  and  spar. 

The  sum-total  of  the  followers  of  Zoroaster  to-day  is 
not  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand.  These 
are  for  the  most  part  congregated  in  and  around  the 
city  of  Bombay.  By  their  Mohammedan  neighbors 
they  are  called  Giiebrcs,  or  infidels.  They  still  feed 
with  sandal-wood  the  sacred  fire  which  tradition  says 
has  never  been  extinguished  on  the  altar  of  the  Sun. 
And  still,  white-robed  and  white-turbaned,  they  circle 
the  altar,  singing  hymns  like  the  following,  which  their 
fathers  sang  ^yhen  Medo-Persia  was  mightiest  among 
the  empires  of  the  earth : 

"  Praise  to  Ormuzd,  great  Creator  ! 
With  our  life  and  bodies  praise ; 


ZOROASTRIANISM.  63 

Purer  than  the  purest,  fairest, 

Bright  through  never-ending  days  ! 
"What  is  good  and  what  is  brilliant, 

That  we  reverence  in  thee — 
Thy  good  spirit,  thy  good  kingdom, 

Wisdom,  law  and  equity," 

These  are  the  only  adherents  of  the  mighty  power  that 
once,  towering  in  pride,  hewed  out  the  mountain-clefts 
for  temples,  branded  her  mark  in  the  servile  foreheads 
of  the  Jews,  and  equipped  the  most  formidable  fleets 
and  armies  ever  seen  that  she  might  hurl  them  against 
the  floating  battlements  of  Alexander. 

The  religion  of  Zoroaster  had,  at  its  best,  no  great 
measure  of  vital  tenacity.  In  the  second  century  of 
the  Christian  era  it  bowed  submissively  and  wellnigh 
yielded  up  the  ghost  at  the  bidding  of  the  idolatrous 
Parthian  priests.  From  this  it  recovered  only  to  trem- 
ble and  succumb  again  at  the  shaking  of  Mohammed's 
sword.  Perhaps  its  very  strength  has  been  its  weak- 
ness. Lacking  the  vital  inspiration  of  heaven-given 
truth,  it  was  yet  possessed  of  so  many  of  the  humble 
graces  and  gentle  courtesies  of  true  religion  as  to  be 
unfitted  for  standing  against  the  brute  forces  of  false- 
hood. 

Before  proceeding  to  a  more  minute  exposition  of 
the  characteristic  features  of  this  religion  it  is  proper 
that  somewhat  should  be  said  about  its  prophet  and  his 
book. 

Zoroaster. — Zoroaster,  if  born  at  all  (for  there  are 
those  who  question  his  real  existence,  holding  that  the 
name  represents  merely  a  divine  principle),  was  born 
in   Bactria  not  less  than  three  thousand   years  ago, 


64  THE   RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

and  how  much  earlier  none  can  tell.^  Tradition  says 
that 

"  As  soon  as  born  he  laughed  a  meny  laugh, 
Though  other  children  weep  when  first  the  air  they  quaff; 
His  parents  then,  Dogduyah  and  Purshasp, 
Cried  out,  *  'Tis  some  great  prophet  in  our  arms  we  clasp.' " 

The  meaning  of  the  name  given  him  is  "golden  splen- 
dor." His  earlier  years  are  a  blank.  He  first  appears 
as  a  priest  ministering  in  the  temple  of  the  Sun.  His 
heart  is  distressed  by  the  gross  idolatries  of  the  people, 
and  not  less  by  the  bitter  sense  of  his  own  ignorance 
and  weakness.  There  by  the  altar  he  utters  his  cry, 
the  first  prayer  to  Ahura-Mazda : 

"I  believe  thee,  O  God,  to  be  the  best  of  all,  the 
source  of  light  for  the  universe.  All  shall  choose 
thee  as  the  fountain  of  light,  thee,  thou  holiest 
Mazda ! 

1  "  The  historic  statements  that  have  come  down  to  us  on  the  subject 
of  the  age  of  Zoroaster,  with  whose  name  the  origin  of  Iranic  cultiva- 
tion is  by  common  consent  regarded  as  intimately  connected,  are  so 
absolutely  conflicting  that  they  must  be  pronounced  valueless.  Eudoxus 
and  Aristotle  said  that  Zoroaster  lived  six  thousand  years  before  the 
death  of  Plato,  or  b.  C.  6348.  Hermippus  placed  him  five  thousand 
years  before  the  Trojan  War,  or  B.  C.  6184.  Berosus  declared  of  him 
that  he  reigned  at  Babylon  toward  the  beginning  of  the  twenty-third 
century  before  our  era,  having  ascended  the  throne,  according  to  his 
chronological  views,  about  B.  C.  2286,  Xanthus  Lydus,  the  contem- 
porary of  Herodotus  and  the  first  Greek  writer  who  treats  of  the  sub- 
ject, made  him  live  six  hundred  years  only  before  the  invasion  of 
Greece  by  Xerxes,  or  b.  c.  1080.  The  later  Greeks  and  Romans  de- 
clared that  he  was  contemporary  with  Darius  Hystaspis,  thus  making 
his  date  about  B.  C.  520-485.  Between  the  earliest  and  the  latest  of 
the  dates  assigned  by  these  authorities  the  difference  (it  will  be  seen) 
is  one  of  nearly  six  thousand  years  !" — Origin  of  Nations,  p.  97. 


ZOROASTRIANISM.  65 

"  I  ask  thee — oh  tell  it  aright,  thou  living  God ! — by 
what  means  is  this  universe  supported  and  who  is  the 
promoter  of  life  ? 

*'  I  ask  thee — oh  tell  it  aright,  thou  living  God ! — 
who  was  in  the  beginning  the  creator  of  truth  ?  Who 
made  the  sun  and  stars,  the  waxing  and  waning  moon  ? 

"  I  ask  thee — oh  tell  it  aright,  thou  living  God — 
who  holdeth  the  earth  and  the  skies  overarching  it? 
Who  made  the  rivers  and  the  trees  ?  Who  begat  light 
and  darkness,  kindly  sleep  and  the  awaking  ? 

"  Who  hath  made  the  mornings,  noons  and  nights, 
those  wayside  sentinels  who  remind  us  of  duty  ?  Oh 
tell  us  aright,  thou  living  God." 

In  answer  to  that  cry  came,  as  he  supposed,  a  rev- 
elation from  Ahura-Mazda,  pointing  out  for  him  the 
career  of  a  reformer,  and  promising  all  needed  sup- 
plies of  light  and  divine  countenance.  His  reforms 
were  aimed,  on  the  one  hand,  at  Pantheism  with  its 
priesthood  corrupt,  mercenary  and  shameless,  and  on 
the  other  at  the  worship  of  idols.^  As  against  these 
he  rose  up  to  testify  for  Ahura-Mazda,  the  Lord  of 
light. 

A  picture  has  been  drawn  by  Bunsen  of  an  assembly 
of  the  people  called  together  by  Zoroaster  on  one  of 
the  hills  adjacent  to  the  primeval  city  of  Bactria  to 

1  *'  In  the  early  nature-worship  idolatry  had  been  allowed,  but  the 
Iranic  system  pronounced  against  it  from  the  first.  No  images  of 
Ahura-Mazda  or  of  the  Izeds  profaned  the  severe  simplicity  of  an 
Iranic  temple.  It  was  only  after  a  long  lapse  of  ages  that,  in  con- 
nection with  a  foreign  worship,  idolatry  crept  in.  The  old  Zoroastrian- 
ism  was  in  this  respect  as  pure  as  the  religion  of  the  Jews." — Rawlin- 
SOn's  Seven  Monarchies^  ii.  48. 
5 


66  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

determine  whether  they  would  worship  many  gods  or 
one.  Standing  before  the  multitude,  he  addressed 
them  in  these  words,  as  found  in  the  Zend-Avesta: 

"  I  will  proclaim  to  all  listeners  the  praises  of  the 
all-wise  God.  Hear  now  what  is  best,  that  ^v^ry  man 
may  choose  his  creed  before  the  coming  of  judg- 
ment. 

"  There  were  two  ancient  spirits,  twins,  who  revealed 
the  evil  and  good.  Of  these  the  bad  spirit  chose  the 
evil ;  the  other,  he  whose  garment  is  the  eternal  arch 
of  heaven,  chose  the  right.  So  will  all  who  faithfully 
serve  Ahura-Mazda. 

"  Let  us  be  counted  among  those  who  benefit  the 
world.  O  Ahura-Mazda,  bliss-conferring  truth !  let 
our  minds  abide  in  the  dwelling-place  of  wisdom. 

"  O  men,  clinging  to  these  commandments  of  the 
great  Mazda^  which  are  a  torment  to  the  wicked  and  a 
blessing  to  the  good,  ye  shall  gain  the  victory  over  all." 

I.  The  Sacred  Book. — Such  hymns,  or  invocations, 
compose  the  larger  part  of  the  Zend-Avesta,  which  is 
the  one  sacred  book  of  the  Fire-worshipers.  The  mean- 
ing of  Zend-Avesta  is  "  living  word."  ^  It  is  believed  to 
have  been  addressed  to  men  by  Ahura-Mazda  through 
the  lips  of  Zoroaster  his  prophet.  It  consists  of  four 
parts — Yazna,  Vispered,  Vendidad  and  Yesht.  These 
contain  little  or  nothing  as  to  theology  or  as  to  the 
conduct  of  daily  life,  but  an  endless  multiplicity  of 
prayers  and  hymns.     The  book  is  simply  a  liturgy. 

*  So  Maurice.  According  to  Rawlinson,  '*  Avesta  "  means  text,  and 
"Zend"  means  comment;  so  that  the  full  title,  Avesta- u-Zend,  or,  as 
contracted,  Avesta-Zend,  means  "text  and  comment." 


ZOROASTRTANISM.  67 

Its  opening  hymn  is  entitled  "  The  Archangels'  First 
Anthem ;  or,  The  Revealed  Thought,  Word  and  Deed 
of  Zarethustra."  Many  of  these  hymns  are  exceed- 
ingly beautiful,  as  this  fragment :  "  In  the  name  of 
God,  the  Giver  and  Forgiver,  rich  in  love,  praise  to 
the  name  of  Ormuzd,  the  God  that  hath  the  title,  who 
always  was,  always  is  and  always  will  be !  Praise  to 
the  omniscience  of  God,  which  hath  sent  us  that  wis- 
dom of  wisdoms  which  finds  an  escape  from  hell  for 
the  soul  at  the  bridge  and  leads  it  over  into  Paradise, 
the  fragrant  home  of  the  pure !"  There  are  many  un- 
intelligible things  in  the  Zend-Avesta — many  that  sug- 
gest mysticism  and  dense  profundity.  And  little  won- 
der, if  they  took  their  rise,  as  Miiller  says,  in  that 
"  period  of  mystic  incubation  when  India  and  Egypt,\ 
Greece  and  Babylonia,  were  sitting  together  and  gos- 
siping like  crazy  old  women,  chattering  with  toothless 
gums  and  silly  brains  about  the  dreams  and  joys  of 
their  youth."  ^ 

Though  the  liturgy  of  the  Zoroastrians  can  be  found 
only  in  the  hymns  of  the  Zend-Avesta,  their  doctrines 

I  "  The  result,  however  brought  about,  which  must  always  remain 
doubtful,  was  the  authoritative  issue  of  a  volume  which  the  learned  of 
Europe  have  now  possessed  for  some  quarter  of  a  century,  and  which 
has  recently  been  made  accessible  to  the  general  reader  by  the  labors 
of  Spiegel.  This  work,  the  Zend-Avesta,  while  it  may  contain  frag- 
ments of  a  very  ancient  literature,  took  its  present  shape  in  the  time  of 
Aitaxerxes,  andwas  probably  then  first  collected  from  the  mouths  of  the 
Zoroastrian  priests  and  published  by  Arda-Viraf.  Certain  additions 
may  since  have -been  made  to  it,  but  we  are  assured  that  'their  num 
ber  is  small,'  and  that  we  have  no  reason  to  doubt  that  the  text  of  the 
Avesta  in  the  days  of  Arda-Viraf  was,  on  the  whole,  exactly  the  same 
as  at  present." — Seven  Monarchies^  iii.  272. 


6S  THE  RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

and  the  precepts  by  which  their  daily  lives  were  guided 
must  be  sought  elsewhere,  chiefly  among  the  poets. 
Persia  is  the  warm  mother-land  of  poets.  There  is 
that  in  the  air — fragrance  of  vineyards  and  rose-trees, 
songs  of  the  nightingale,  dalliance  of  color  and  warm 
sunlight — which  awakens  all  genius.  Apart  from 
Zoroaster,  who  stands  among  the  Persian  bards  as 
Saul  among  the  prophets,  there  were  Hafiz  and  Saadi 
and  many  other  immortal  names.  "  In  all  ages  and 
languages,"  says  Alger,  "  the  poet  is  a  preacher." 
Doubted  ;  yet  certainly  the  literature  of  Persia  "  re- 
veals her  poets  as  the  keenest,  tenderest,  sublimest, 
most  versatile  of  preachers ;"  and  the  religion  of 
Persia  has  no  existence  apart  from  the  afflatus  of  the 
Zoroastrian  bards.  Where  else  but  under  those  clear 
shining  skies  could  fancies  like  this  be  born  ? — 

"  The  firmament  is  God's  love-letter  writ  for  man ; 

The  sun  is  the  seal  stamped  on  its  envelope  of  air; 
The  confidential  night  tears  off"  the  blazing  seal, 

And  lays  the  solemn  star-script,  God's  handwriting,  bare." 

Let  us  now  note  the  peculiar  and  distinguishing 
features  of  this  religion,  as  derived  not  only  from  the 
Zend-Avesta,  but  from  the  actual  life  and  beliefs  of 
the  fire-worshipers. 

II.  The  Central  Thotight :  Dualism. — Its  teaching  is, 
that  there  are  two  gods — Ormuzd  or  Ahura-Mazda, 
and  Ahriman  or  Angra-Mainyu — and  these  two  are 
equal.* 

^  "  Dualism  proper,  or  a  belief  in  two  uncreated  and  independent 
principles,  one  a  principle  of  good  and  the  other  a  principle  of  evil, 
was  no  part  of  the  original  Zoroastrian  ism.     At  the  same  time  we  find, 


ZOROASTRIANISM.  69 

"  Ormuzd  and  Ahriman  :  Devotion's  dazzling  child, 
And  Doubt's  demoniac  son,  false,  filthy,  black  and  wild; 
The  moment  they  were  born  creation  they  began : 
Ormuzd  all  good  things  made;  all  evil,  Ahriman." 

The  latter,  "  false,  filthy,  black  and  wild,"  has  no 
altars,  and,   though    recognized   as   an   equal    antag- 

even  in  the  Gathas,  the  earliest  portions  of  the  Zend-Avesta,  the  germ 
out  of  which  dualism  sprung. 

"  The  Iranians  came  to  believe  in  the  existence  of  two  coeternal  and 
coequal  Persons,  one  good  and  the  other  evil,  between  whom  there  had 
been  from  all  eternity  a  perpetual  and  never-ceasing  conflict,  and  be- 
tween whom  the  same  conflict  would  continue  to  rage  through  all 
coming  time. 

"  The  dualistic  principle  being  thus  fully  adopted,  and  the  world 
looked  on  as  the  battle-ground  between  two  independent  and  equal 
powers  engaged  in  a  perpetual  strife,  it  was  natural  that  the  imagina- 
tion should  complete  the  picture  by  ascribing  to  these  superhuman  rivals 
the  circumstantials  that  accompany  a  great  struggle  between  human 
adversaries.  The  two  kings  required,  in  the  first  place,  to  have  their 
councils,  which  were  accordingly  assigned  them,  and  were  respectively 
composed  of  six  councilors.  The  councilors  of  Ahura-Mazda — called 
Atnesha-Spentas,  or  *  immortal  saints,'  afterward  corrupted  into  Am- 
shashpands  —  were  Vohu-Mano,  Asha-Vahista,  Khshathra-Vairya, 
Cpenta-Armaiti,  Haurvatat  and  Ameretat.  Those  of  Angi-a-Mainyu 
were  Ako-Mano,  Indra,  Caurva,  Naonhaitya  and  two  others  whose 
names  are  interpreted  as  Darkness  and  Poison. 

"  As  the  two  principles  of  good  and  evil  have  their  respective  coun- 
cils, so  have  they  likewise  their  armies.  The  good  spirit  has  created 
thousands  of  angelic  beings  who  everywhere  perform  his  will  and  fight 
on  his  side  against  the  evil  one ;  and  the  evil  one  has  equally  on  his 
part  called  into  being  thousands  of  malignant  spirits,  who  are  his  emis- 
saries in  the  world,  doing  his  work  continually  and  fighting  his  battles. 
These  are  the  devas  or  dives  so  famous  in  Persian  fairy  mythology. 
They  are  '  wicked,  bad,  false,  untrue,  the  originators  of  mischief,  most 
baneful,  destructive,  the  basest  of  all  beings.'  The  whole  universe  is 
full  of  them.  They  aim  primarily  at  destroying  all  the  good  creations 
of  Ahura-Mazda;  but  if  unable  to  destroy,  they  content  themselves 
with  perverting  and  corrupting.     They  dog  the  steps  of  men,  tempting 


70  THE  RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

onlst  of  the  good  Ormuzd,  no  divine  honors  are  paid 
to  him. 

Onnuzd. — A  brief  quotation  from  a  child's  cate- 
chism printed  for  use  among  the  modern  Parsees  will 
suffice  to  show  that,  while  possessing  a  dualistic  the- 
ology, they  practice  a  monotheistic  worship.  The  first 
question  is : 

^*  Whom  do  we  Zoroastrians  believe  in  ?" 

"  We  believe  in  one  God,  and  in  none  beside  him. 

''  Who  is  that  God  ? 

"  The  God  who  created  the  heavens  and  earth,  the 
sun,  moon  and  stars,  the  angels  and  the  four  elements. 
Him  we  believe  in ;  him  we  worship,  invoke  and  adore. 

"  And  do  we  not  believe  in  any  other? 

"  Whoso  believes  in  any  other  God  is  an  infidel,  and 
shall  suffer  the  penalties  of  hell." 

Ahriman. — Nevertheless,  throwing  his  shadow  over 
this  faith  in  the  one,  stands  the  other — Angra-Mainyu, 
the  evil-minded.  There  is  a  divergence  here  from  the 
biblical  thought  of  Satan  in  this,  that  in  the  latter  case 
there  is  a  divine  foot  upon  the  serpent's  head,  while  in 
the  former  two  Titans  of  equal  birth,  majesty  and  power 
stand  opposing  each  other.     Satan  is  a  worm  at  God's 

Ihem  to  sin,  and,  as  soon  as  they  sin,  obtaining  a  fearful  power  over 
them. 

"At  the  head  of  Ahura-Mazda's  army  is  the  angel  Serosh,  'the 
sincere,  the  beautiful,  the  victorious,  the  true,  the  master  of  truth.' 
He  protects  the  territories  of  the  Iranians,  wounds,  and  sometimes 
even  slays,  the  demons,  and  is  engaged  in  a  perpetual  struggle  against 
Ihem,  never  slumbering  night  or  day,  but  guarding  the  world  with  his 
sword,  more  particularly  after  sunset,  when  the  demons  have  the  greatest 
power." — Seven  Monarchies,  ii.  51-54. 


Z  OR  OASTRIANISM.  7 1 

feet ;  Ahriman  is  Ormuzd's  equal.  It  remains  yet  to 
be  seen  which  shall  pluck  the  world,  the  costly  guerdon 
of  their  struggle,  from  his  rival's  hands.  Yet  nowhere 
is  there  a  clearer  hope  than  under  these  blue  splendid 
skies  of  Persia  that  good  shall  finally  prevail,  and  the 
earth  shine  as  a  jewel  in  the  crown  of  the  "  all-perfect, 
all-powerful,  all-glorious."  ^ 

Traces  are  seen  everywhere  among  the  poets,  who 
are  the  truest  preachers  of  the  Zoroastrian  creed,  of 
warm  desire  and  aspirations  after  nearness  to  this  God 
behind  the  dazzling  veil.  There  is  said  to  have  been 
one  whose  supreme  desire  was  to  approach  the  sun  so 
near  as  to  be  consumed  by  it.     Thus  it  is  written : 

..^  "  Blest  time  that  frees  me  from  the  bonds  of  clay 

To  track  the  lost  one  in  his  airy  course ! 
Like  motes  exulting  in  their  parent  ray, 
My  kindling  spirit  rushes  to  its  source." 

Nor  does  the  Zoroastrian's  God  turn  away  "  him  that 
Cometh  unto  him  ;"  rather, 

"  Who  comes  toward  me  an  inch  through  doubtings  dim, 
In  blazing  light  I  do  approach  a  yard  toward  him." 

The  Zoroastrian  would  not  differ  from  the  Christian 

*  Here  there  is  a  difference  of  opinion.  Rawlinson  says :  "  The 
dualism  professed  was  of  the  most  extreme  and  pronounced  kind. 
Oraiuzd  and  Ahriman,  the  principles  of  good  and  evil,  were  expressly 
declared  to  be  '  twins.'  They  had  '  in  the  beginning  come  together  to 
create  life  and  death,'  and  to  settle  '  how  the  world  was  to  be.'  There 
v/as  no  priority  of  existence  of  the  one  over  the  other,  and  no  decided 
superiority.  The  two,  being  coeval,  had  contended  from  all  eternity, 
and  would,  it  was  almost  certain,  continue  to  contend  to  all  eternity^ 
neither  being  able  to  vanquish  the  other.  Thus  an  eternal  struggle  was 
postulated  between  good  and  evil,  and  the  issue  was  doubtful,  neither 
side  possessing  any  clear  and  manifest  advantage." 


72  THE   RELIGIONS  OF  THE    WORLD. 

in  his  definition  of  that  which  separates  between  the 
soul  and  God : 

**  The  dazzling  beauty  of  the  loved  one  shines  unseen, 
And  selfs  the  curtain  o'er  the  road.     Away,  O  screen !" 

Perhaps  their  aspirations,  enkindled  beneath  redder 
stars  and  a  warmer  sun,  are  more  sensual  than  ours. 
Watts  or  Wesley  would  scarcely  have  sung  like  this : 

*'  There's  ne'er  a  spot  in  our  bewildered  world, 
Where  God's  exceeding  glory  shines  so  dim, 
But  shapes  are  strung  and  hearts  are  warm. 
And  lips  are  sweet  from  him." 

The  worshipers  of  Ormuzd  are  greatly  given  to 
prayer.  God  is  ever  near  them  as  the  sunlight,  ready 
to  listen,  ready  to  help.  No  doubting  Tyndall  has  ever 
arisen  among  them  to  suggest  that  there  is  no  answer- 
ing voice.  A  poor  bereaved  soul  lay  all  night  long 
crying,  *'  God  !  God  !"  And  the  tempter  came  and 
whispered,  "  God  hath  not  said,  Here  am  I !"  Then 
came  the  good  angel  Chiser,  bringing  to  the  prostra^ 
mourner  these  words,  full  as  a  honeycomb  of  the 
sweetness  of  comfort: 

"  *  Go  tell,'  said  Ormuzd,  '  yonder  soul,  now  sunken  in  despair, 

Each  "  Lord,  appear,"  thy  lips  pronounce  contains  my  "  Here  am  I ;" 
A  special  messenger  I  send  beneath  thine  every  sigh  : 
Thy  love  is  but  a  girdle  of  the  love  I  bear  to  thee; 
And  sleeping  in  thy  "Come,  O   Load!"  there  lies  "Here,  son!" 
from  me.'  " 

Thus  far  concerning  the  dualism  of  this  religion. 
Around  this,  as  its  central  thought,  we  find  a  cluster 
of  three  distinguishing  marks. 


ZOROASTRIANISM.  73 

Three  Characteristic  Features. — Not  far  from  the  ruins 
of  Persepolis  towers  aloft  the  famous  rock  of  Behistun, 
its  flinty  face  covered  with  hieroglyphics  and  wedge- 
shaped  letters  that  have  survived  the  storms  and  con- 
vulsions of  twenty-four  hundred  years.  Here  one  may 
read  this  proclamation  :  "  /,  Darius,  ruler  of  the  depend- 
ent provinces,  son  of  Hystaspis,  by  the  grace  of  Orinuzd 
am  king.  It  is  he  that  hath  granted  me  my  empire.  By 
the  grace  of  Onnuzd  my  people  have  obeyed  my  lazus^ 
Near  by  is  a  figure,  meant  to  represent  Darius,  stand- 
ing before  an  altar  whereon  a  fire  is  burning.  Above 
the  altar  is  a  rude  image  of  the  sun.  Over  the  king 
is  a  shadowy  creature  with  wings.  And  at  no  great 
distance  a  struggle  is  represented  as  going  on  between 
^e  king  and  a  griffin.  From  this  picture  let  us  derive 
our  three  characteristics  of  the  religion  of  Persia — to 

wit: 

I  st,  Fire-ivorship  ; 

2d,    TJie  Idea  of  Conflict ;  and 
3d,    The  Fravashis. 

I.  Fii'e-ivorship. — The  disciples  of  Zoroaster  have, 
from  time  immemorial,  been  known  as  fire-worshipers, 
yet  they  protest  against  the  name  and  avow  themselves 
believers  in  the  one  only  God.  It  is  probably  true  that 
the  wisest  and  most  devout  among  them,  while  loyal 
to  the  old  custom  of  worshiping  with  faces  turned 
toward  the  sun  or  the  fire  burning  on  the  altar,  regard 
these  simply  as  emblems,  and  look  through  them  and 
beyond  them  to  Him  whose  heart  is  infinite  warmth 
of  love  and  whose  word  is  as  the  brightness  of  light. 
The  nights  in  Persia  are  clear  and  beautiful.    The  stars 


74       THE   RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

are  a  language  which  speaks  to  peasant  and  priest  ahke 
of  Hght  coming  out  of  darkness. 

"  Through  the  forehead  of  eve  the  Lord  driveth  yon  star  as  a  nail, 
And  the  thick-spangled  darkness  lets  down  o'er  the  day  as  a  veil." 

It  is  Httle  wonder,  therefore,  if  the  people  of  that  fervid 
and  poetic  land,  searching  for  a  God,  should  imagine 
they  had  found  him  hidden  within  those  ever-present, 
ever-mysterious,  silent  yet  fateful  veils  of  light.  The 
sun  being  the  centre,  all  the  orbs  of  heaven  are  as 
ministers  that  wait  upon  him.  "  We  have  seen  his  star 
in  the  east  "  was  but  another  way  of  saying,  "  We  have 
received  a  mandatory  word  from  the  ineffable  Throne, 
and  must  needs  go  where  it  leads  and  do  whatsoever 
it  bids  us."  ^ 

2.  Conflict. — The  second  of  the  characteristics  re- 
ferred to  is  the  idea  of  conflict.  This  naturally  grows 
out  of  the  dualism  of  light  and  darkness.  Like  gods, 
like  people.  When  the  gleaming  of  the  swords  of 
Ormuzd  and  Ahriman  is  in  the  air,  life  grows  warlike 

^  The  worship  of  the  elements  was  no  part  of  the  original  system  of 
Zoroaster,  It  was  borrowed  from  Magism,  the  religion  of  ancient 
Armenia  and  Cappadocia.  When  the  followers  of  Zoroaster,  in  their 
migrations,  spread  over  the  countries  lying  south  and  west  of  the  Caspian 
Sea,  they  came  into  contact  with  people  who  w^orshiped  earth,  air,  fire 
and  water,  and  they  incoi-porated  this  religion  with  their  own.  Raw- 
linson  says :  *'  With  their  dualistic  belief  had  been  combined,  at  a  time 
not  much  later  than  that  of  Darius  Hystaspis,  an  entirely  separate  sys- 
tem, the  worship  of  the  elements.  Fir-e,  air,  earth  and  water  were  re- 
garded as  essentially  holy,  and  to  pollute  any  of  them  was  a  crime. 
Fire  was  especially  to  be  held  in  honor,  and  it  became  an  essential  part 
of  the  Persian  religion  to  maintain  perpetually  upon  the  fire-altai-s  the 
sacred  flame,  supposed  to  have  been  originally  kindled  from  heaven, 
and  to  see  that  it  never  went  out." 


ZOROASTRIANISM.  75 

in  every  phase.  All  things  are  divided  into  twos :  two 
gods,  two  marshaled  hosts,  two  modes  of  living,  two 
places  of  final  destiny.  And  every  man  must  choose. 
There  is  no  fate.  Will  is  of  all  things  freest ;  it  is  bound 
to  nothing  save  the  necessity  of  choice.  The  sufis' 
preaching  is  little  more  than  a  call  to  enlistment: 
**  Who  is  on  the  Lord's  side  ?  Choose  ye  this  day 
whom  ye  will  serve."  There  is  no  escaping  the  clash 
of  arms.  All  things  in  heaven  and  earth  are  arrayed 
for  battle.  Ahura-Mazda  summons  the  shining  hosts 
of  heaven ;  twelve  companies  march  in  the  twelve  signs 
of  the  Zodiac ;  the  dog-star,  Sura,  stands  sentinel  at 
the  bridge  Chinevat,  watching  the  abyss  from  which 
Ahriman  shall  come  with  his  myriads  of  Daevae.  Then 
battle !  The  rolling  of  heaven's  artillery,  the  swift 
gleaming  of  its  electric  lights,  and  blackness  cover- 
ing the  field  !     Then  light  again : 

"  The  red  dawning  proclaims  a  victorious  fight ; 
From  the  sword  of  the  sun  flows  the  blood  of  the  night." 

It  is  thus  that  fervid  Oriental  minds  set  forth  the 
conflict  ever  going  on  between  right  and  wrong,  the 
powers  of  light  and  darkness.  The  Zoroastrian  en- 
tertains a  profound  hatred  of  evil ;  he  hates  it  as  a 
good  soldier  does  the  banner  of  his  foe : 

"  Beneath  the  tiger's  jaw  I  heard  a  victim  cry, 

*  Thank  God  that,  though  in  pain,  yet  not  in  guilt  I  die.'  " 

Loathe  sin,  abhor  sin,  go  not  near  it,  preaches  the  sufi  : 

"  Avoid  an  evil-doer  as  you  would  a  brand, 
Which,  lighted,  burns ;  extinguished,  soils  the  hand." 


y6  THE   RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

No  other  religion  dwells  with  greater  emphasis  on  the 
folly  of  doing  evil.  He  who  pursues  a  vicious  course 
of  life  is  "  as  one  who  painfully  turns  up  the  sand  with 
a  golden  plough  to  sow  weeds ;  he  mows  a  lignum- 
vitae  forest  with  a  scythe  of  glass ;  he  puts  a  jeweled 
vase  on  a  sandal-wood  fire  to  cook  a  dish  of  pebbles." 
The  Persian  hates  vanity  and  wrong,  and  loves  right  for 
its  own  sake.  His  religion  is,  by  eminence,  a  moral 
religion.  Its  comprehensive  code  is  this :  Pure  thoughts^ 
pure  woj'ds,  pure  deeds.  Ormuzd's  first  law  is  cleanli- 
ness of  body  and  soul.  The  swiftness  of  life  is  a  never- 
ending  theme,  and  with  it  the  vanity  of  earthly  things : 

i 

*'  I  wish  not  for  thrones  and  the  glories  of  life ;  | 

What  is  glory  to  man  ?     An  illusion  ;  a  cheat. 
What  did  it  for  Jemschid,  the  world  at  his  feet  ?" 

It  was  easy  to  ring  the  changes  on  earth's  vanity 
when  one  stood  among  ruins.  The  saying  of  St.  Paul, 
"  We  brought  nothing  into  this  world,  and  it  is  certain 
we  can  carr}^  nothing  out,"  is  thus  expressed  and  some- 
thing more  : 

"  On  parent's  knees,  a  naked  new-born  child. 
Weeping,  thou  sat'st,  while  all  around  thee  smiled ; 
So  live  that,  sinking  in  thy  last  long  sleep. 
Calm,  thou  mayest  smile  while  all  around  thee  weep." 

O.  less  beautifully,  but  with  even  greater  force,  in  the 
story  of  the  poet  who  was  called  to  sing  at  Haroun 
al-Raschid's  court.  Again  and  again  he  celebrated  the 
caliph's  praise — his  valor,  his  conquests,  his  princely 
wealth — and  still  Al-Raschid  called  for  a  higher  strain. 
Then, 


Z  OR  OASTRIANISM.  77 

"  Around  that  vast  magnific  hall  one  glance  the  poet  threw 
On  courtiers,  king  and  festival,  and  did  the  strain  renew : 
*  And  yet,  and  yet,  shalt  thou  at  last  lie  stretched  on  bed  of  death : 
Then  when  thou  drawest  thick  and  fast  thy  sobs  with  painful  breath, — 
When  Azrael  glides  through  guarded  gate,  through  hosts  that  camp 

around 
Their  lord  in  vain,  and  will  not  wait, — when  thou  art  sadly  bound 
Unto  thine  house  of  dust  alone  — O  king,  when  thou  must  die, 
This  pomp  a  shadow  thou  must  own,  this  glory  all  a  lie.'  " 

With  such  poets,  preaching  thoughts  that  breathe 
in  words  that  burn,  singing  the  battles  of  dawn  and 
darkness  and  the  praises  of  a  virtuous  Hfe,  the  disciples 
of  Zoroaster  could  not  be  otherwise  than  brave  and 
earnest,  a  people  of  high  thoughts  and  noble  deeds. 
Their  religion  is  the  very  spirit  of  conflict.  "  Endure 
hardness  as  a  good  soldier ;"  "  Put  on  the  whole  armor 
of  God,  that  ye  may  be  able  to  withstand,  and  having 
done  all  to  stand  in  the  evil  day." 

"Wouldst  thou  the  honey  taste  while  afraid  of  the  sting  of  the  bee  ? 

Wouldst  the  victor's  crown  wear  without  knowing  the  terrible  fight? 
Could  the  diver  get  pearls  that  repose  in  the  depths  of  the  sea 

If  he  stood  on  the  shore,  from  the  crocodile  shrinking  in  fright  ? 
"With  unfaltering  toil  thou  must  seek  what  the  Fates  have  decreed 
May  be  won,  and  courageously  pluck  for  thyself  the  glorious  meed." 

This  might  almost  pass  for  an  Oriental  version  of  "  Am 
I  a  soldier  of  the  cross  ?" 

The  Four  Laws. — At  this  point  we  note  the  Four 
Laws  of  Zoroastrianism,  which  constitute  its  moral 
code.     They  are  piety,  purity,  veracity  and  industry. 

(i)  Piety,  consisting  chiefly  in  the  worship  of  Ormuzd 
by  repetition  of  the  hymns  and  prayers  of  the  Zend- 


78       THE   RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

Avesta.  The  modes  of  worship  are  exceedingly 
simple :  "  In  early  morning  the  congregation  gathers 
under  the  open  sky  around  the  altar  or  hearth,  on 
which  a  fire  is  burning.  The  priest  sits,  facing  the 
fire,  on  a  stone  platform  reached  by  three  steps.  To 
protect  the  fire  from  the  pollution  of  his  breath,  he 
and  his  assistants  wear  a  veil  reaching  from  below  the 
eyes  to  the  chin.  Rising,  he  begins  :  '  I  invite  to  this 
offering,  and  I  prepare  it  for,  Ahura-Mazda.'  "  ^  He 
then,  with  many  invocations,  offers  to  the  fire  food, 
flesh,  milk  or  butter,  and  joins  his  congregation  in 
drinking  the  sacred  juice  of  the  soma-plant.^ 

(2)  Purity.  This  has  already  been  referred  to.  The 
Zoroastrian's  conception  of  purity  is,  indeed,  far  below 
our  gospel  standard,  yet  he  professes,  and  his  life  meas- 
urably illustrates,  a  sincere  love  of  "pure  thoughts, 
pure  words  and  pure  deeds."  ^ 

1  Faiths  of  the  World. 

2  The  **  ceremony  of  the  soma  "  consisted  in  the  extraction  of  the 
juice  of  the  plant  while  the  priest  was  employed  in  prayer,  after  which 
the  drink-offering  was  solemnly  dedicated  to  the  fire,  and  then  quaffed 
by  priest  and  worshipers. 

*  "  Outward  purity  had  to  be  maintained  by  a  multiplicity  of  external 
observances,  forming  in  their  entirety  a  burden  as  heavy  to  bear  as  that 
imposed  by  the  Mosaic  ceremonial  law  on  the  people  of  Israel.  But 
inward  purity  was  not  neglected.  Not  only  were  the  Iranians  required 
to  refrain  from  all  impure  acts,  but  also  from  impure  words,  and  even 
from  impure  thoughts.  Ahura-Mazda  was  '  the  pure,  the  Master  of 
purity,'  and  would  not  tolerate  less  than  perfect  purity  in  his  votaries." 
— Ancient  Religions,  p.  73. 

"  The  purity  which  was  required  of  the  Zoroastrian  was  of  two  kinds, 
moral  and  legal.  Moral  purity  comprised  all  that  Christianity  includes 
under  it — truth,  justice,  chastity  and  general  sinlessness.  It  was  coex- 
tensive with  the  whole  sphere  of  human  activity,  embracing  not  only 


ZOROASTRIANISM.  79 

(3)  Veracity.  "  No  Persian  virtue,"  says  Rawlinson, 
**  is  more  praised  by  the  ancients,  perhaps  none  more 
astonished  the  cunning  Greeks,  than  Persian  truthful- 
ness, which  wins  at  this  day  the  high  respect  of  Hindus 
deahng  with  Parsees.  The  most  shameful  thing  in  Per- 
sian eyes  was  lying.^  Debt  and  other  faults  were  spe- 
cially detested  for  the  lies  required  to  conceal  them. 
Children  were  taught  truth-telling  as  they  were  taught 
science.  Ahriman  is  the  liar  of  liars.  The  religious 
law  reckoned  severely  with  the  breaker  of  an  engage- 
ment. Persians  were  very  slow  to  take  an  oath,  but 
the  pledge  of  a  Persian  hand  was  like  the  Olympian 
oath  by  the  Styx."^ 

(4)  Industry.  "  He  who  tills  the  ground  is  as  good 
a  servant  of  religion  as  he  who  presents  a  thousand 
holy  offerings  or  ten  thousand  prayers.  Arare  est  orare. 
*  Who  is  the  fourth  that  rejoices  the  earth  with  greatest 

words  and  acts,  but  even  the  secret  thoughts  of  the  heart.  Legal 
purity  was  to  be  obtained  only  by  the  observance  of  a  multitude  of 
trifling  ceremonies  and  the  abstinence  from  ten  thousand  acts  in  their 
nature  wholly  indifferent.  Especially,  everything  was  to  be  avoided 
which  could  be  thought  to  pollute  the  four  elements,  all  of  them  sacred 
to  the  Zoroastrian  or  Sassanian  times — fire,  water,  earth  and  air." — Seven 
Monarchies,  iii.  586. 

1  Rawlinson  says  :  "  Druj,  *  falsehood,'  is  held  up  to  detestation,  alike 
in  the  Zend-Avesta  and  in  the  Persian  cuneiform  inscriptions,  as  the 
basest,  the  most  contemptible  and  the  most  pernicious  of  vices." 

2  Faiths  of  the  World. 

This  has  ceased  to  be  true  among  the  modern  Persians.  Maurice 
says :  "  Under  the  Mohammedan  teaching,  which  in  Turkey  has  cer- 
tainly been  favorable  to  veracity,  the  strong  sense  of  moral  right  and 
wrong  which  distinguished  the  old  Persian  has  deserted  him.  He  who 
was  celebrated  by  Xenophon  as  above  all  men  the  speaker  of  truth  has 
become  proverbial  for  lying." 


8o  THE  RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

joy  ?  It  is  he  who  cultivates  most  corn,  grass  and 
fruit  What  is  the  stomach  of  the  law?  It  is  sowing 
corn  again  and  again.'  "  ^  The  Parsees  are  an  eminently 
industrious  people.  To  this  may  be  due  the  fact  that 
they  have  ever  been  possessed  of  princely  wealth,  and 
that  at  this  day  no  beggar  can  be  found  among  them.^ 

We  have  spoken  of  two  characteristic  features  of 
Zoroastrianism — viz.  fire-worships  as  indicating  the 
leading  thought  in  its  theology  and  ritual ;  and  con- 
flict,  as  showing  its  conception  of  life's  duties  and  re- 
sponsibilities. 

3.  The  Fj'avashis. — We  now  come  to  the  third,  which 
was  referred  to  as  the  FravasJiis.  Under  this  head  we 
consider  the  Persian's  philosophy  of  the  future.  In 
the  picture  carved  on  the  rock  Behistun,  representing 
Darius  at  the  flaming  altar,  we  saw  a  shadowy  creature 

^  Faiths  of  the  World. 

2  "  The  early  Ormuzd  worshipers  were  agriculturists,  and  viewed  the 
cultivation  of  the  soil  as  a  religious  duty  enjoined  upon  them  by  God. 
Hence  they  connected  the  notion  of  piety  with  earth-culture,  and  it  was 
but  a  step  from  this  to  make  a  single  goddess  preside  over  the  two.  It 
is  as  the  angel  of  earth  that  Annaiti  has  most  distinctly  a  personal  cha- 
racter. She  is  regarded  as  wandering  from  spot  to  spot  and  laboring  to 
convert  deserts  and  wildernesses  into  fruitful  fields  and  gardens.  She 
has  the  agriculturist  under  her  immediate  protection,  while  she  en- 
deavors to  persuade  the  shepherd,  who  persists  in  the  nomadic  life,  to 
give  up  his  old  habits  and  commence  the  cultivation  of  the  soil. 

"  Man  was  placed  upon  the  earth  to  preserve  the  good  creation ;  and 
this  could  only  be  done  by  careful  tilling  of  the  soil,  eradication  of 
thorns  and  weeds,  and  reclamation  of  the  tracts  over  which  Angra- 
Mainyu  had  spread  the  curse  of  barrenness.  To  cultivate  the  soil  was 
thus  a  religious  duty ;  the  whole  community  was  required  to  be  agri- 
cultural ;  and  either  as  proprietor,  as  farmer  or  as  laboring-man  each 
Zoroastrian  must  '  further  the  works  of  life '  by  advancing  tillage."— 
Seven  Monarchies^  ii.  48,  56. 


ZOR  OASTRIANISM.  8 1 

with  wings  poised  above  his  head.  This  was  his  Fra- 
vashi,  his  "  double  " — his  soul,  if  you  will.  The  doc- 
trine of  the  Zend-Avesta  is  that  all  men  pre-exist  in 
this  shadowy  form — that  birth  embodies  them ;  and 
death  in  turn  liberates  the  Fravashi  from  its  fleshly 
bands.  Here,  therefore,  is  the  great  truth  of  immor- 
tality. The  body  dies  and  is  carried  out  to  the  Tower 
of  Silence  for  eagles  to  pluck  at,  but  the  soul,  or  Fra- 
vashi, lives  on  for  ever  and  ever.  There  is  to  be,  more- 
over, a  resurrection,  whereat  the  soul  shall  be  reinvested 
with  its  earthly  body,  and  there  are  to  be  glad  reunions 
in  the  future  world.  A  day  is  appointed  for  judgment 
when  all  must  appear  to  render  an  account  for  the 
deeds  done  in  the  body.  There  is  no  probation  after 
death  ; 

"  Where  ends  wrong-doing 
Begins  long  ruing." 

The  bridge  that  leads  to  the  dwelling-place  of  the  pure 
is  stretched  across  the  abyss  Duzaht,  the  awful  abyss 
where  Ahriman  dwells.  The  wicked,  crossing  that 
narrow  bridge,  tremble  with  sense  of  ill-desert,  throw 
up  their  arms  in  despair,  fall  and  are  lost  to  view. 
But  those  who  have  loved  pure  thoughts,  pure  words 
and  pure  deeds  reach  in  safety  the  other  side.  The 
joys  of  heaven  are  largely  in  the  consciousness  of 
having  lived  aright;  for  it  is  a  true  saying,  outside 
of  all  bibles,  that  virtue  is  its  own  reward. 

"  In  the  nine  heavens  are  eight  paradises. 

"Where  is  tlie  ninth  one  ?     In  the  human  breast. 
Given  to  thee  are  those  eight  paradises 

When  thou  the  ninth  one  hast  within  thy  breast." 
6 


82  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

''What  shall  I  Do  to  be  Savcdr—i:\\^  Zoroastrian 
has  but  a  dim  notion  of  forgiveness.  He  believes  in 
it,  yet  for  want  of  an  atonement,  having  no  revelation 
of  the  Lamb  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the  world,  he 
must  needs  make  it  purchasable  for  the  virtue   of  a  \ 

threefold  repetitioii  of  the  divine  7iame, 

ThePatet. — Here  is  his  "Patet,"  or  Miserere:  id)  "  I 

repent,   0_  God,   of  sinsj AH  wicked   thoughts,  all 

wicked  words,  all  wicked  deeds,  which  I  have  medi- 
tated in  the  world,  corporeal  or  spiritual,  I  repent  of. 
Lord,  forgive,  for  the  three  words'  sake !"  {b)  **  All 
sins  against  kindred,  suj)eriors  and  neighbors ;  the  de- 
filement with  dirt  and  corpses ;  the  omission  of  reciting 
the  Zend-Avesta ;  what  I  ought  to  have  thought,  and 
did  not ;  what  I  ought  to  have  done,  and  did  not ; 
what  I  ought  to  have  spoken,  and  did  not, — for  these, 
O  Lord,  I  repent.  Forgive  for  the  three  words'  sake  !" 
{c)  "  Of  pride,  haughtiness  and  anger ;  discontent,  in- 
dolence and  idol-worship ;  omission  of  the  mid-day 
prayer ;  theft,  robbery,  unchastity ;  sins  which  I  know 
or  know  not, — of  these  repent  L  Lord,  pardon,  for  the 
three  words'  sake !" 

In  the  religion  of  the  Persians  there  is  nothing  cor- 
responding to  our  Christ.  The  light  with  healing  in 
its  beams  never  rose  upon  them.  This  is  the  one  vital 
defect  of  the  Zoroastrian  system — the  one  joint  of  its 
harness  whereat  enters  the  arrow  of  death.  Its  saviour 
was  but  a  saviour  in  a  dream.  The  ancient  sufis  looked 
for  one  whom  they  called  Sosioch^  who  would  put  down 
Ahriman,  and,  breaking  all  chains,  usher  in  a  golden 
age  of  righteousness  and  peace.     Dim  indeed  is  this, 


ZOROASTRIANISM.  83 

yet  who  shall  say  precisely  how  bright  must  be  the 
image  of  the  great  personal  sacrifice  ere  it  has  power 
to  save? 

It  will  be  remembered  that  there  was  enough  of  light 
glimmering  through  the  darkness  of  this  false  religion 
to  lead,  once  upon  a  time,  certain  of  its  devotees  to  the 
feet  of  the  Christ-child. 

"  A  comet  dangling  in  the  air 
Presaged  the  ruin  both  of  death  and  sin, 
And  told  the  wise  men  of  a  King, 
The  King  of  glory,  and  the  Sun 
Of  Righteousness,  who  then  begun 
To  draw  toward  that  blessed  hemisphere. 
They,  from  the  farthest  East,  this  new 
And  unknown  light  pursue 
Till  they  appear 
In  this  blest  infant  King's  propitious  eye, 
And  pay  their  homage  to  his  royalty. 

Persia  might  then  the  rising  sun  adore ; 
It  was  idolatry  no  more."  ^ 

The  modern  Parsees,  indeed,  reject  all  thought  of 
forgiveness.  "  There  is  no  saviour,"  they  say ;  "  a  man 
must  suffer  the  penalty  of  whatsoever  evil  he  hath  done. 
The  only  saviour  is  a  virtuous  life."  Thus,  standing  at 
the  very  threshold  of  the  truth,  they  enter  not.  Even 
the  vague  outlines  of  their  own  redeemer  have  vanished 
into  air. 

The  writer  has  purposely  refrained  from  emphasizing 
or  enlarging  upon  the  imperfections  of  the  Zoroastrian 
system,  because,  whatsoever  may  be  its  faults,  there  is 
no  other  form  of  religion  outside  of  the  Bible  which 

1  Jeremy  Taylor. 


84  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

in  pureness  of  doctrine,  clearness  of  view  as  to  the 
hereafter  and  beneficent  influence  on  daily  life  can  be 
compared  with  this.  Let  us  fondly  trust  that  many 
Magi,  following  the  dim  star  of  their  Sosioch,  have 
come  ere  this,  with  offerings  of  gold  and  myrrh  and 
frankincense,  into  the  heavenly  presence  of  the  true 
One, 

For  salvation  is  not  alone  to  those  only  who  have 
abundance  of  the  living  Bread,  but  to  such  also  as, 
having  tasted  the  crumbs,  are  anhungered  for  the 
Bread.  Perhaps  in  the  following  parable,  by  Saadi, 
there  is  an  overweening  trust  in  the  great  Father's 
love: 

*'  Once  as  I  staggered,  blind,  upon  the  brink  of  hell, 
Above  the  everlasting  fire-flood's  awful  roar, 
God  threw  his  heart  before  my  feet,  and,  stumbling  o'er 
That  obstacle  divine,  I  into  heaven  fell." 

But  we  may  rest  assured  that  if  any  do  thus  enter 
heaven,  they  are  such  as  stumble  while  groping  for 
the  light. 


IV. 
BRAHMANISM, 


Origin  :  The  Aryan  migration  into  India. 
I.  Sacred  Books  : 

(i)   TheVedas. 

(2)  Brahmanas. 

(3)  Upanishads. 
Laws  of  Manu. 
Traditional  Tales. 

II.    Theology : 


(i)   Monotheism  "I  T^    v,  j  •^ 

(2)  Pantheism     I     ^^  ^'         l*WW\M^'^ 

(3)  Polytheism.  ^^-Wv*«* 
The  Creed;   "the  Six  Elements."      (V /La/A<V 

III.  Results:  \    ^Q 

No  Personal  Responsibility. 
"  Like  gods,  like  people." 
Distitiguishing  Feature  :  Caste. 
*'  What  shall  I  do  to  be  saved?''     Be  absorbed  in  Brahm. 


IV.  BRAHMANISM. 

Its  Origin. — A  race  of  dreamers  dwelt  in  Central 
Asia,  on  the  high  table-lands  lying  east  of  the  Caspian 
Sea,  so  long  ago  that  in  the  endeavor  to  trace  them 
we  lose  ourselves  in  pre-historic  mists.  They  called 
themselves  Aryans,  meaning  "  of  noble  blood."  From 
them  as  the  prolific  mother  has  descended  the  large 
family  of  Aryan  or  Indo-European  peoples  —  the 
Greeks  and  Romans,  Celts,  Hindus  and  Anglo- 
Saxons — dreamers  all,  who,  mourning  a  lost  glory 
and  an  offended  Father,  have  built  them  altars  and 
porches  of  philosophy,  and  have  never  ceased  to 
grope  eagerly  after  truth  and  the  Unknown  God. 

Civilization  of  the  Aryans. — As  long  as  three  thou- 
sand years  ago  these  Aryans  boasted  a  civilization 
scarcely  inferior  to  that  which,  at  the  same  period, 
prevailed  among  the  Jews,  who  were  just  then  pre- 
paring to  float  cedar  trees  from  Lebanon  for  the  pil- 
lars of  their  golden  temple.  They  had  a  well-organ- 
ized government ;  they  dwelt  in  comfortable  houses  ; 
they  tilled  the  fields,  ground  their  barley  in  mills,  were 
familiar  with  the  arts  of  weaving  and  pottery,  used 
gold  and  silver  currency,  drove  from  village  to  vil- 
lage in  wheeled  carriages,  and  had  weapons  of  bronze. 
They  wrote  epic  poems  in  the  lunar  dynasty,  twelve 

87 


88       THE   RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

hundred  years  before  the  beginning  of  the  Christian 
era. 

But  what  concerns  us  most  is  the  fact  that  they  were 
worshipers  of  the  true  God.  The  oldest  of  their  tradi- 
tions reveal  the  dim  outlines  of  One  concerning  whom 
it  was  said,  *'  There  is  none  other  than  He."  This, 
however,  was  in  their  earliest  years.  There  are  traces 
of  a  slow  descent  into  idolatry  and  of  the  struggle  of 
I  the  old  religion  for  life — a  vain  struggle,  that  marked 
its  progress  with  ever-multiplying  fires  and  temples 
built  in  honor  of  the  many  who  were  mightier  than 
the  Unknown  One.  Then  suddenly  appeared  the 
titanic  figure  of  Zoroaster  the  Reformer.  The  old  re- 
ligion under  him  renewed  its  strength ;  the  struggle 
deepened ;  there  were  two  great  parties  now — one 
contending  for  the  old  Aryan  creed,  the  other  for  the 
shrines  of  the  gods. 

The  Migration  into  India. — The  latter  were  defeated ; 
retiring  before  the  victorious  hosts  of  Zoroaster,  they 
crossed  the  Hindu-Kush  Mountains,  journeyed  down 
the  river-bed  of  the  Indus,  and  from  the  north-west 
entered  India.  These  were  the  progenitors  of  the 
Brahmans  of  to-day. 

Origin  of  Caste. — In  taking  possession  of  the  land 
they  were  brought  into  conflict  with  native  tribes 
dwelling  among  the  hills  and  tangled  forests,  who, 
after  a  stubborn  resistance,  at  length  yielded  to  their 
superior  might.  The  victors  set  themselves  at  once 
over  all  as  a  superior  order,  the  vanquished  taking  a 
subordinate  place ;  and  here  was  the  beginning  of  that 
iron-banded  system  of  caste  which  has  prevailed  in 


BRAHMANISM.  89 

India  for  thirty  centuries,  repressing  the  best  energies 
of  that  land  as  did  the  mountain  pressing  on  the  heart 
of  the  fabulous  Typhon. 

The  BraJimans. — No  sooner  had  they  secured  the 
highest  place  by  right  of  conquest  than  they  proceeded 
to  make  their  tenure  sure  by  religious  sanctions.     A  O 
fable  was  invented  declaring  that  when  Brahm  created   V 
the  human  race  the  Brahman  sprang  from  his  head ;  the 
Kshatriya,  or  soldier  caste,  from  his  breast ;  the  Vaisya,   i 
or  merchant  caste,  from  his  loins ;  and  the  Sudra,  or/ 
laboring  caste^  from  his  feet.^     This  fable  gave  to  the\ 
Brahmans  a  sacred  pre-eminence — a  right  to  hold  them-  \ 
selves  aloof  from  common  mortals  and  to  be  called/ 
after  the  name  of  the  unseen  Brahm.     They  are  the 
priests  of  the  Hindu  religion,  conducting  its  multitu- 
dinous rites  and  ceremonies,  and  alone  endowed  with 
the  privilege  of  reading  its  sacred  books.     They  cast 
the  horoscope  at  the  birth  of  every  child,  whisper  the 
mantras  or  mysterious  words,  preside  at  the  betrothal 
and  mutter  incantations  in  the  dying  hour.     They  are 
mediators  between  heaven  and  earth,  themselves  wor- 
shiped as  demigods.    Cursed  indeed  is  the  man  who  is 
cursed  of  a  Brahman,  and  thrice  blessed  if  but  a  Brah- 
man's shadow  fall  upon  him. 

^  "  With  Purusha  as  victim  they  performed 
A  sacrifice.     When  they  divided  him, 
How  did  they  cut  him  up  ?     What  was  his  mouth  ? 
What  were  his  arms ;  and  what  his  thighs  and  feet  ? 
The  Brahman  was  his  mouth;  the  kingly  soldier 
Was  made  his  arms ;  the  husbandman  his  thighs ; 
The  servile  Sudra  issued  from  his  feet." 

MoNiER  Williams's  Hinduism^  p.  31. 


90  THE  RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

It  is  not  strange,  these  things  being  considered,  that 
the  Brahman  is  famed  for  an  intense  self-consciousness, 
walking  erect  with  *'  a  proud  conviction  of  superiority 
depicted  on  every  feature."  ^  In  the  Laws  of  Manu  it 
is  asserted  that  *'  a  Brahman,  by  reason  of  his  high 
birth,  is  an  object  of  veneration  even  to  the  gods." 
In  the  Mahabharata,  the  most  beautiful  of  Hindu  epics, 
occurs  this  passage  in  a  vivid  description  of  a  tourna- 
ment: 

"  With  the  noise  of  the  musical  instruments  and  the  eager  cries  of  the 
lookers-on, 
A  din  arose  like  the  roaring  of  the  sea ; 

When,  lo !  wearing  his  white  raiment  and  the  sacrificial  cord, 
With  snowy  hair  and  silvery  beard  and  the  white  garland  around  his 

brows, 
Into  the  midst  of  the  arena  slowly  walked  the  Brahman, 
Like  the  sun  in  a  cloudless  sky." 

These  distinctions,  rock-rooted  by  centuries  of  ob- 
servance, are  practically  inviolable.  Crossing  the  line 
is  not  so  much  as  dreamed  of.^     To  lose  caste  is  to 

*  "  Light  of  complexion,  his  forehead  ample,  his  countenance  of 
striking  significance,  his  lips  thin  and  mouth  expressive,  his  eyes  quick 
and  shai-p,  his  fingers  long,  his  carriage  noble  and  almost  sublime,  the 
true  Brahman,  uncontaminated  by  European  influence  and  manners, 
with  his  intense  self-consciousness,  with  the  proud  conviction  of  supe- 
riority depicted  in  eveiy  muscle  of  his  face  and  manifest  in  every  move- 
ment of  his  body,  is  a  wonderful  specimen  of  humanity  walking  on 
God's  earth," — From  Sherring's  Hindu  Tribes  and  Castes. 

Rev.  Narayan  Sheshadrai  said,  in  the  Madison  Avenue  Church  in 
New  York  in  1873  :  "  I  was  taught  as  a  Brahman  to  believe  that  I  was 
a  god  on  earth,  a  compound  of  the  proudest  assumptions  and  meanest 
humiliations." 

2  "  In  point  of  fact,  strictness  in  the  maintenance  of  caste  is  the  only 
real  test  of  Hinduism  exacted  by  the  Brahmans  of  the  present  day. 


BRAHMANISM.  9 1 

be  doomed  to  wander,  like  the  unburied  Greeks,  in 
darkness  for  ever.  Imagine  how  repressive  such  a 
system  must  be  on  the  advancement  of  a  nation.  For 
national  life  is  but  another  name  for  the  heart-throbbing 
and  struggling  of  the  lower  classes  to  rise.  But  in 
India  there  is  no  possibility  of  rising.  And  India  will 
always  be  a  dependency.  Ambition  is  dead  there.  To 
be  born  a  Sudra  is  to  be  chained  for  life  to  treadmill 
duties  and  to  the  companionship  of  other  Sudras  or 
base  ones.  The  water-carriers  and  scavengers  of  Bom- 
bay are  the  descendants  of  those  who  carried  water 
and  cleaned  the  streets  of  Bombay  as  far  back  as  run- 
neth the  memory  of  man.  Society  is  a  ladder  indeed, 
but  there  is  no  climbing  it.  What,  then,  remains  for 
India,  grown  old  in  her  conventional  bondage?  Is 
there  no  hope  ?  Not  in  Bralimanisvi.  The  forger  of 
chains  can  scarcely  be  expected  to  enact  the  role  of 
liberator.  Caste  is  the  strong  citadel  of  the  religion  of 
Brahm. 

The  Central  Thought. — Let  us  emphasize  that  fact 
as  indicating  its  most  characteristic  feature.  It  is 
by  eminence  the  religion  of  caste,  of  priestcraft,  of 
the  elect  few,  and,  logically,  the  religion  of  social  and 

In  matters  of  mere  faith  Hinduism  is  all-tolerant  and  all-receptive.  No 
person  who  is  not  born  a  Brahman  can  become  one,  but  any  person  can 
be  admitted  into  the  lower  ranks  of  Hinduism  who  will  acknowledge 
the  supremacy  of  the  Brahmans  and  obey  rules  of  caste.  So  long  as  a 
man  holds  to  his  caste  he  is  at  liberty  to  hold  any  opinions  he  likes,  even 
to  accepting  the  doctrines  of  Christianity. 

*  Perfection  is  alone  attained  by  him 
Who  swerves  not  from  the  business  of  his  caste.' " 

Hinduis7n,  p.  151, 


/g2  THE  RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

political  stagnation ;  its  genius,  an  unyielding  pride 
of  aristocracy,  an  influence  as  blighting  as  the  finger 
of  death. 

In  considering  the  character  of  this  religion  let  us 
look  first  at  its  sacred  books ;  second,  at  its  theology ; 
and  third,  at  its  morality  and  practical  results. 

I.  Sacred  Books. — The  sacred  literature  of  the  Hin- 
dus consists  of  the  Vedas,  the  Brahmanas  and  the 
Upanishads ;  in  addition  to  which  there  are  commen- 
taries without  number,  law-books,  litanies,  and  inter- 
minable legendary  poems.  These  are  all  in  Sanskrit, 
which  is  called  "  the  perfect  tongue." 

(l)  The  Vedas. — The  word  "veda"  means  knowl- 
edge. It  is  akin  to  the  Greek  olba,  Latin  video^  Ger- 
man wissen,  English  wit.  The  Vedas  are  said  to  have 
issued  like  breath  from  the  self-existent  Deity.  They 
are  four  in  number,  to  wit : 

1.  The  Rig- Veda,  from  ric,  to  praise.  This  is  the 
Brahman's  bible  and  hymn-book  combined.  It  con- 
sists of  ten  hundred  and  twenty-eight  hymns  or  invo- 
cations, chiefly  addressed  to  Brahm  and  the  lesser 
gods. 

2.  The  Sama-Veda,  or  Book  of  Penitential  Chants. 

3.  The  Yagur-Veda,  or  Book  of  Sacrificial  Rites. 

4.  The  Atharva-Veda,  or  Book  of  Magical  Spells 
and  Incantations. 

Not  all  of  the  poetical  effusions  in  the  Vedas  are 
what  we  would  call  religious ;  the  following,  entitled 
"  Every  One  to  his  Taste,"  will  serve  as  an  illustration: 

"  Men's  tastes  and  trades  are  multifarious, 
And  so  their  ends  and  aims  are  various. 


BRAHMANISM.  93 

The  smith  seeks  something  cracked  to  mend ; 

The  doctor  would  have  sick  to  tend ; 

The  priest  desires  a  devotee 

From  whom  he  may  extract  a  fee. 

Each  craftsman  makes  and  vends  his  ware. 

And  hopes  the  rich  man's  gold  to  share. 

My  sire's  a  doctor ;  I  a  bard ; 

Corn  grinds  my  mother,  toiling  hard. 

All  craving  wealth,  we  each  pursue 

By  different  means  the  end  in  view. 

Like  people  running  after  cows 

"Which  too  far  off  have  strayed  to  browse. 

The  draught-horse  seeks  an  easy  yoke ; 

The  merry  dearly  like  a  joke; 

Of  lovers  youthful  belles  are  fond ; 

And  thirsty  frogs  desire  a  pond."  ^ 

(2)  TJie  BraJimanas  are  in  the  form  of  appendices  to 
the  Vedas.  They  consist  chiefly  of  rituahstic  precepts 
and  comments  on  the  Vedic  hymns.  The  following 
will  serve  as  an  illustration ;  it  sets  forth  the  remark- 
able idea  that  the  gods  were  mortal  until,  by  meritori- 
ous deeds,  they  extorted  immortality  from  the  Supreme 
Being : 

"  The  gods  lived  constantly  in  fear  of  Death, 
The  mighty  Ender;  so  with  toilsome  rites 
They  worshiped  and  repeated  sacrifices 
Till  they  became  immortal.     Then  the  Ender 
Said  to  the  gods,  *  As  ye  have  made  yourselves 
Imperishable,  so  will  men  endeavor 
To  free  themselves  from  me ;  what  portion  then 
Shall  I  possess  in  man  ?'     The  gods  replied, 
*  Henceforth  no  being  shall  become  immortal 
In  his  own  body ;  this  his  mortal  frame 
Shalt  thou  still  seize ;  this  shall  remain  thine  own. 
He  who,  through  knowledge  or  religious  acts. 
Henceforth  attains  to  immortality 
Shall  first  present  his  body.  Death,  to  thee.'  "  ' 
*  MuiR.  2  Williams. 


94  THE  RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

(3)   The  Upanishads  (meaning  "  beneath  the  surface") 

rare  also  appendices  to  the  Vedas.     They  consist  of 
mystical  speculations   touching  the  Deity,  the  origin 
of  the  universe,  the  nature  of  the  human  soul  and  kin- 
\  dred  themes. 

In  addition  to  the  foregoing  there  are  certain  writ- 
ings called  Smriti,  or  Traditions,  which  are  regarded 
as  scarcely  less  sacred  than  the  Vedas  themselves. 
Among  these  must  be  particularly  noted  the  Laws 
of  Manu,  consisting  of  twelve  books  of  precepts  hav- 
ing reference  particularly  to  the  maintenance  of  the 
custom  of  caste/  and  the  Bhakti-sastras,  or  Mytholog- 
ical Tales. 

^  "  It  will  be  found  that,  after  eliminating  the  purely  religious  and 
philosophical  precepts,  the  greater  number  of  its  rules  fall  under  the 
four  following  heads : 

"  I.  Acara,  *  immemorial  practices.'  These  include  all  the  observ- 
ances of  caste,  regarded  as  constituting  the  highest  law  and  highest 
religion. 

"  2.  Vyavahara,  *  practices  of  law  and  government,'  embracing  the 
procedure  of  legal  tribunals,  rules  of  judicature  and  civil  and  criminal 
law. 

"  3.  Prayas-citta,  *  penitential  exercises,'  comprehending  rules  of  ex- 
piation. 

"  4,  Karma-phala,  *  consequences  of  acts,'  especially  as  involving  re- 
peated births  through  numberless  existences  until  the  attainment  of  final 
beatitude." — Hinduism,  p.  55. 

"A  few  specimens  of  Manu's  moral  precepts  are  here  subjoined: 

*  Daily  perform  thine  own  appointed  work 
Unweariedly ;  and  to  obtain  a  friend — 
A  sure  companion  to  the  future  world — 
Collect  a  store  of  virtue  like  the  ants, 
Who  garner  up  their  treasures  into  heaps; 


BRAHMA  NISM.  95 

It  is  impossible  to  determine  the  precise  date  of  these 
sacred  books.  If  you  ask  a  Brahman,  he  will  gravely 
inform  you  that  some  of  them  were  written  more  than 
two  million  years  ago.  Max  Miiller,  in  his  Ancie7it 
Sanskrit  LiteratiirCy  places  the  oldest  of  the  Vedic 
writings  at  about  1 200  b.  c.  Professor  Monier  Wil- 
liams says :  "  We  may  be  justified  in  assuming  that 
the  hymns  of  the  Veda  were  probably  composed  by  a 
succession  of  poets  at  different  dates  between  1500  and 
1000  years  b.  c."  The  hymns  of  the  Rig-Veda  are 
therefore  older  than  the  Psalms  of  David.  They  are 
marked  by  a  beautiful  simplicity  of  diction.  Here  is  a 
prayer  addressed  to  Agni,  god  of  fire,  who  was  known 
later  on  as  Vishnu ;  the  worshiper,  rubbing  together 

For  neither  father,  mother,  wife  nor  son, 
Nor  kinsman,  will  remain  beside  thee  then. 
When  thou  art  passing  to  that  other  home : 
Thy  virtue  will  thine  only  comrade  be. 

*  Single  is  every  living  creature  born ; 
Single  he  passes  to  another  world; 
Single  he  eats  the  fruits  of  evil  deeds ; 
Single,  the  fruit  of  good ;  and  when  he  leaves 
His  body  like  a  log  or  heap  of  clay 

Upon  the  ground,  his  kinsmen  walk  away : 

Virtue  alone  stays  by  him  at  the  tomb. 

And  bears  him  through  the  dreary  trackless  gloom. 

*  Depend  not  on  another,  rather  lean 
Upon  thyself;  trust  to  thine  own  exertions. 
Subjection  to  another's  will  gives  pain; 
True  happiness  consists  in  self-reliance. 

*  Strive  to  complete  the  task  thou  hast  commenced ; 
Wearied,  renew  thy  efforts  once  again; 

Again  fatigued,  once  more  the  work  begin  ; 

So  shalt  thou  earn  success  and  fortune  win.'  " — Hinduism,  p.  69. 


96  THE   RELIGIONS    OF  THE    WORLD. 

two  pieces  of  wood,  father  and  mother  of  the  flame, 

until  they  glow,  exclaims : 

"  O  Agni,  accept  my  service  :  listen  to  my  song. 

"  With  this  wood  I  worship  thee,  Agni,  son  of  strength  and  conqueror 
of  horses ! 

"  Let  thy  servants  serve  thee  with  songs,  O  Agni,  giver  of  riches,  who 
delightest  in  riches  and  lovest  songs. 

"  O  youngest  of  the  gods  and  best  deserving  of  worship,  come  at  our 
praise,  perform  thou  the  sacrifice,  sit  down  upon  this  sacred  grass."  ^ 

The  Rig-Veda  is  the  most  ancient  and  incomparably 
the  most  perfect  of  the  sacred  books.  The  other  Vedas 
are  more  voluminous,  making  in  all  eleven  huge  octavos. 

^  "  I  would  not  wrest  to  any  fanciful  resemblance  the  points  of  like- 
ness between  this  ancient  divinity  (Agni)  and  the  later  avatars  of  Indian 
and  Christian  creeds ;  but  it  is  evident  the  god  stands  ready  to  take  the 
part  afterward  given  to  Vishnu.  And  whether  or  no  we  choose  to  con- 
sider that  the  ideals  which  Vishnu,  and  still  more  Christ,  express  are 
implanted  in  human  nature,  it  is  evident  that,  without  passing  beyond 
his  legitimate  functions  as  a  nature-god,  Agni  is  able  to  realize  some 
of  the  qualities  of  such  an  ideal.  He  is  incarnate  after  a  fashion,  being 
born  of  the  wood ;  he  is,  in  a  peculiar  sense,  the  friend  of  man ;  he  is 
the  messenger  and  mediator  between  heaven  and  earth  ;  and  lastly,  he 
is  in  a  special  manner  the  Holy  One,  the  fosterer  of  strong  emotion, 
of  those  mystic  thoughts  which  arise  when  in  any  way  the  mind  is 
violently  swayed.  Agni  is  all  this  without  laying  aside  the  elemental 
nature  in  which  he  is  clothed : 

*  Agni  is  messenger  of  all  the  world. 
Skyward  ascends  his  flame,  the  Merciful, 
With  our  libations  watered  well ; 

And  now  the  red  smoke  seeks  the  heavenly  way, 
And  men  enkindle  Agni  here. 

*  We  make  of  thee  our  herald.  Holy  One ; 
Bring  down  the  gods  unto  our  feast. 

O  son  of  might,  and  all  who  nourish  man ! 
Pardon  us  when  on  thee  we  call.'  " 

Keary's  Outlines  of  Primitive  Belief y  p.  103. 


BRAHMANISM.  97 

The  supplements  are  numberless  and  endless.  There 
are  one  hundred  thousand  verses  in  the  Ramayana 
alone.  Sir  William  Jones  says  :  "  Wherever  we  direct 
our  attention  to  Hindu  literature  the  notion  of  infinity 
is  forced  upon  us.  The  longest  life  would  not  suffice 
for  a  single  perusal  of  works  that  rise  and  swell,  pro- 
tuberant like  the  Himalayas,  above  the  bulkiest  com- 
positions of  every  land." 

As  to  the  character  of  these  writings,  we  may  safely 
accept  the  judgment  of  Max  Muller,  who  is  probably 
more  familiar  with  them  than  any  other  scholar  except 
among  the  pundits.  He  says,  in  a  word,  they  are  "  full 
of  pedantry,  shallow  and  insipid  grandiloquence  and 
priestly  conceit."  There  are  tales,  proverbs,  incanta- 
tions, wise  maxims,  disquisitions  on  science,  songs  ad- 
dressed to  gods  and  harlots, — everything  except  the 
hopes  and  promises  which  the  soul  has  reason  to  look 
for  in  religion. 

"  How  pitying  Vishnu  came  from  heaven,  and  as  a  peasant-boy 
With  merry  pranks  filled  all  the  cowherd  lads  and  maids  with  joy; 
The  wondrous  things  he  said  and  did  while  mortal  men  among, — 
All  this  has  saintly  Shukadev  in  the  Brem-Sagar  sung." 

In  the  Laws  o/Man2i,ih.e  Hindu  book  of  morals  and 
jurisprudence,  are  thousands  of  precepts  like  these: 
"  If  a  man  desire  long  life,  he  should  eat  with  his  face 
turned  to  the  east;  if  prosperity,  to  the  west;  if  truth  ^y^ 
and  its  rewards,  to  the  north ;"  "  When  a  student  is 
about  to  read  the  Vedas  he  must  perform  an  ablution, 
compose  his  limbs  and  put  on  a  clean  vest ;"  "  When- 
ever a  Brahman  begins  or  ends  a  lecture  on  the  Veda 
he  must  pronounce  to  himself  the  syllable  Aimt,  for 


98       THE   RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

unless  the  syllable  Atwi  precede  and  follow,  his  learn- 
ing will  slip  away  from  him  ;"  "  The  name  of  a  woman 
should  be  clear  and  soft,  captivating  the  fancy,  auspi- 
cious, ending  in  long  vowels  and  sounding  like  a  bene- 
diction." It  is  sad  to  think  of  two  hundred  millions  of 
immortal  souls  walking  by  the  light  of  a  bible  like  this. 

II.  TJieology. — We  turn  now  to  the  theology  of 
Brahmanism;  that  is,  its  belief  concerning  God  and 
eternal  things. 

(i)  One  God. — In  the  original  faith  of  the  Aryans,  be- 
fore they  crossed  the  mountains  into  India,  there  was 
07ie  Supreme  God,  whom  they  called  Dians,  from  the  root 
diu,  "  to  shine  " — the  Shifting  0?ie.  There  are  invoca- 
tions in  the  Rig- Veda  addressed  to  Diaus-pitar,  whom 
we  at  once  identify  with  the  Greek  Zeu^-Trdvi^p  and  the 
Latin  jfiipiter ;  and  in  all  these  languages  it  means 
the  same — Heaven-Father.  Our  hearts  are  strangely 
moved  and  warmed  at  mention  of  that  most  sacred 
name  occurring  thus  in  the  primeval  worship  of  the 
Aryans — Onr  Father  which  art  in  heaven. 

There  are  not  a  few  hymns  in  the  oldest  Vedas  which 
point  clearly  to  the  unity  of  God,  such  as  the  following : 

"  What  god  shall  we  adore  with  sacrifice  ? 
Him  let  us  praise,  the  golden  Child  that  rose 
In  the  beginning,  who  was  born  the  lord, 
The  one  sole  lord  of  all  that  is — who  made 
The  earth  and  formed  the  sky,  who  giveth  life, 
"Who  giveth  strength,  whose  bidding  gods  revere. 
Whose  hiding-place  is  immortality, 
Whose  shadow  death  ;  who  by  his  might  is  King 
Of  all  the  breathing,  sleeping,  waking  world. 
Where'er,  let  loose  in  space,  the  mighty  waters 
Have  gone,  depositing  a  fruitful  seed 


BRAHMANISM.  99 

And  generating  fire,  there  He  arose 

Who  is  the  breath  and  life  of  all  the  gods, 

Whose  mighty  glance  looks  round  the  vast  expanse 

Of  watery  vapor — source  of  energy, 

Cause  of  the  sacrifice,  the  only  God 

Above  the  gods."  ^ 

Or  the  following : 

"  He  is  the  only  master  of  the  world ;  he  fills  heaven 
and  earth.  He  gives  life  and  strength ;  all  the  other 
gods  seek  for  his  blessing ;  death  and  immortality  are 
but  his  shadow. 

"  The  mountains  covered  with  frost,  the  ocean  with 
its  waves,  the  vast  regions  of  heaven,  proclaim  his 
power. 

^"  Heaven  and  earth  tremble  for  fear  before  him.    He 
is  God  above  all  gods."  ^ 

But  this  Supreme  One  was  conceived  of  as  afar 
off — ''  Para-Brahm,"  a  god  too  distant  to  be  worshiped. 
"  He  is,"  says  one  of  the  sages,  "  neither  the  known  nor 
the  unknown.  That  which  cannot  be  expressed  bywords, 
that  which  cannot  be  conceived  by  the  mind,  that  which 
cannot  be  seen  with  the  eyes, — that  is  Brahm  ;"  "  His 
spirit  is  divinely  calm,  his  mind  supernal ;"  "  He  is  with- 
out size,  quality,  character  or  division  ;"  "  The  wise  man 
contemplates  him  as  the  Spirit  who  resembles  space ;" 
"  He  is  like  one  asleep."  So  Krishna  says :  "  The 
works  of  the  universe  confine  me  not ;  I  am  like  one 
who  sitteth  aloof,  taking  no  interest  in  earthly  things." 

(2)  PantJieism. — Between  this  conception  of  God  and 
Pantheism  there  was  obviously  but  a  single  step,  and 

*  MoNiER  Williams.  2  Quackenbos,  Ancient  Literature. 


lOO  THE  RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

that  step  was  early  and  easily  taken,  as  we  should  ex- 
pect of  a  speculative  people  dwelling  above  the  moun- 
tains in  an  atmosphere  burdened  with  the  spirit  of 
dreams.  The  religious  teachers  soon  came  to  regard 
BraJim  as  "  the  one  eternal,  absolute,  unchangeable 
Being,  who  unfolds  himself  into  the  universe  as 
Creator  and  created,  becoming  in  turn  ether,  air,  fire, 
water  and  earth."  They  represented  him  as  saying, 
''  I  am  the  light  in  the  sun  and  moon ;  I  am  the  bril- 
liancy in  flame,  the  radiance  in  all  shining  things,  the 
light  in  all  lights,  the  sound  in  air,  the  fragrance  in 
earth,  the  eternal  seed  of  all  things  that  exist,  the  life 
in  all ;  I  am  the  goodness  of  the  good ;  I  am  the  be- 
ginning, middle,  end,  the  eternal  in  time,  the  birth  and 
death  of  all."  ^  This  led  to  the  important  formula, 
Ekavi  eva  advitiyam — "  There  is  only  One,  and  there 
is  nothing  beside  him ;"  that  is,  nothing  really  exists 
except  Brahm.     All  things  else  are  maya  or  illusion.^ 

1  Dr.  Cairo. 

'  "  To  men  conscious  of  sin  and  apprehensive  of  a  coming  retribu- 
tion any  system  will  stand  commended  which  minifies  or  denies  re- 
sponsibility. This  Hinduism  does  on  the  basis  of  three  propositions — 
viz.  that  there  is  no  essential  distinction  between  the  soul  and  God ;  that 
there  is  no  such  thing  as  fi-ee  agency ;  and,  consequently,  no  necessary 
and  permanent  distinction  between  sin  and  righteousness.  Such  doc- 
trines cannot  indeed  heal,  but  they  are  most  effectual  to  narcotize  the 
conscience.  They  dull  and  ease  the  acuter  pangs  of  remorse  and  deaden 
the  sense  of  need  of  a  Saviour.  A  system  which,  like  Hinduism,  is  as 
an  opiate  to  the  pain  of  sin  must  needs  stand  strong  in  the  faith  of  its 
votaries.  Also,  again,  the  doctrine  of  viaya,  or  illusion,  does  much  to 
make  the  Hindu  position  inexpugnable.  To  deny  or  doubt  the  affir- 
mations of  consciousness — e.  g.  as  to  freedom,  personality,  responsi- 
bility— were  to  render  the  very  foundations  of  human  knowledge  more 
uncertain  than  sand.     "With  us,  here  is  the  ultimate  appeal  in  all  argu- 


BRAHMA  NISM.  lOI 

The  souls  of  men  are  emanations  of  Brahm,  the  uni- 
versal self-existent  soul ;  they  are  as  "  sparks  from  his 
central  fire,  separated  for  a  time  to  be  absorbed  at  last." 
The  life  and  actions  of  men  are  "  as  the  illusory  phan- 
toms and  appearances  which  a  conjurer  calls  up  and 
the  gaping  crowd  mistake  for  realities,  or  as  the  per- 
sonages, scenes,  events  of  a  troubled  dream."  ^  One 
of  the  Brahman's  proverbs  is,  "  Our  life  is  as  a  drop 
that  trembles  on  the  lotus-leaf,  fleeting  and  quickly 
gone."  The  consummation  of  all  best  wishes  and 
highest  ambitions  is  to  be  thus  exhaled  into  Brahm, 

ment  and  end  of  all  strife.  But  the  Hindu,  by  denying  the  dicta  of 
consciousness  and  affirming  this  doctrine  of  illusion,  places  himself  at 
once  beyond  the  reach  of  argument.  Every  missionary  knows  to  his 
sorrow  how,  at  the  last,  his  adversary  will  always  bring  forth  maya  as  a 
sufficient  answer  to  any  argument  and  an  adequate  solution  of  every 
difficulty.  From  this  panoply  of  illusion  the  keenest  arguments  glance 
off  like  feather-shafts  from  a  coat  of  mail.  Still  further,  it  is  impossible 
that  a  man  who  has  been  brought  to  doubt  the  testimony  of  his  own 
consciousness  should  be  otherwise  than  indifferent  to  the  truth.  If  the 
doctrine  of  maya  be  admitted,  the  distinction  between  truth  and  error 
vanishes  into  thin  air.  If  all  is  error,  then  there  is  no  room  for  truth. 
Truth  is  but  a  mere  phantom  which  is  not  worth  the  chasing.  All 
things  are  equally  true  or  equally  false  as  you  please  to  take  it.  Hence, 
argues  the  Hindu  always,  all  religions  are  alike  true  and  from  God. 
Christianity  is  true ;  so  also  is  Hinduism,  Mohammedanism  and  every 
other  religion.  There  is  only  the  difference  of  a  name ;  and  if  this  be 
so,  why  should  a  man  forsake  the  cult  of  his  fathers  only  to  bring 
trouble  and  ruin  on  himself?  It  is  plain  that  no  temper  of  mind  could 
well  be  more  unfavorable  to  the  reception  of  the  truth  than  this.  To  a 
man  who  has  come  under  the  deadly  influence  of  this  doctrine  of  maya 
all  argument,  on  whatsoever  subject,  becomes  a  mere  logomachy.  It  is 
like  the  play  of  fencers,  which  has  no  other  object  than  to  display  the 
agility  and  skill  of  the  fencer." — Dr.  S.  H.  Kellogg,  in  Princeton 
Review. 
^  Dr.  Cairo. 


I02  THE  RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

to  be  absorbed  in  the  Infinite  One.^     In  the  Rig- Veda 
it  is  written, 

"  The  embodied  spirit  has  a  thousand  heads, 
A  thousand  eyes,  a  thousand  feet,  around 
On  every  side  enveloping  the  earth. 
Yet  filling  space  no  longer  than  a  span. 
He  is  himself  this  very  universe; 
He  is  w^hatever  is,  has  been  and  shall  be ; 
He  is  the  lord  of  immortality. 
All  creatures  are  one-fourth  of  him ;  three-fourths 
Are  that  which  is  immortal  in  the  sky."  ^ 

Polytheism. — Philosophers  may  dream  thus,  but, 
manifestly,  human  souls  burdened  with  toil,  sorrow 
and  guilt  must  have  a  god  nearer  than  Brahm.  The 
descent  fi-om  Pantheism  to  Polytheism  is  by  easy 
stages ;  for  if  God  be  everything,  then  everything  is 
God;  if  Brahm  be  asleep,  why  should  we  utter  our 
prayers  before  him  ?  if  he  be  afar  off  and  invisible, 
here  are  trees,  rivers,  living  creatures  at  hand ;  as  we 
must  worship,  let  us  worship  these.  There  are  said  to 
be  three  hundred  and  thirty  jnillions  of  divinities  in 
the  Hindu  pantheon,  chiefly  personifications  of  the 
forces  and  phenomena  of  nature.     These  are  all  re- 

^  "  Their  doctrine  is,  that  the  one  sole,  self-existing  Supreme  Self, 
the  only  really  existing  Essence,  the  one  eternal  Germ  of  all  things, 
delights  in  infinite  expansion,  in  infinite  manifestations  of  itself,  in  in- 
finite creation,  dissolution  and  re-creation  through  infinite  varieties  and 
diversities  of  operation.  The  veiy  name  '  Brahman '  (neut.  from  root 
brih,  *  to  grow ')  given  to  the  eternal  Essence  is  expressive  of  this 
growth,  this  expansion,  this  universal  development  and  diffusion. 
Hence  all  visible  form  is  an  emanation  from  God." — Hinduism^ 
p.  86. 

'  Williams. 


BRAHMANISM.  IO3 

garded  as  manifestations   and   representatives  of  the 
Supreme  One.^ 

"  Into  the  bosom  of  the  one  great  sea 
Flow  streams  that  come  from  hills  on  every  side : 
Their  names  are  various  as  their  springs." 

The  Trinmrti. — In  the  catalogue  of  Hindu  gods  we 
must  begin  by  naming  the  great  Ti'hfmrti,  or  triad,  con- 
sisting of  Agni,  Indra  and  Surya,  personifications  re- 
spectively of  fire,  storm  and  sunlight.  These  three  in 
process  of  time  came  to  be  identified  with  Brahma, 
Siva   and  Vishnu.^     The    symbol    of  the   triad   thus 

*  "  To  account  for  its  polytheism,  idol-worship  and  system  of  caste 
distinctions  popular  Hinduism  supposes  that  the  one  Supreme  Being 
amuses  himself  by  illusory  appearances;  that  he  manifests  himself 
variously,  as  light  does  in  the  rainbow;  and  that  all  visible  and  ma- 
terial objects,  good  and  bad,  including  gods,  demons,  demigods,  good 
and  evil  spirits,  human  beings  and  animals,  are  emanations  from  him, 
and  are  ultimately  to  be  reabsorbed  into  his  essence." — Hinduism, -p.  12. 

2  "  The  pantheon  of  the  early  Hindus  was  thus  developed :  In  the 
beginning  was  Brahma,  sole  and  self-existent.  He  willed  to  create 
various  creatures  out  of  his  own  substance.  Accordingly,  by  meditation 
he  produced  the  waters ;  into  them  he  put  a  seed  which  developed  a 
golden  Qgg,  and  from  that  egg  he  was  bora.  But  as  the  people  did  not 
abandon  their  worship  of  the  old  gods  to  take  up  with  any  such  abstrac- 
tion, the  priests,  with  singular  tact,  incorporated  the  most  popular  of 
these  divinities  with  Brahma,  and  so  the  triad  was  formed — Brahma 
(the  Creator  of  all  things),  Vishnu  (the  Preserver,  who  underwent  ten 
avataras,  or  incarnations,  to  deliver  the  people  from  the  tyranny  of  as 
many  wicked  princes) — and  Siva  (the  Destroyer).  Here  was  no  trinity, 
for  there  was  no  unity,  but  a  triad — three  co-ordinate  deities." — Rev. 
S.  M.  Jackson,  in  Schaff-Herzog  Encyclopedia. 

"  It  is  usual  to  describe  these  three  gods  as  Creator,  Preserver  and 
Destroyer,  but  this  gives  a  very  inadequate  idea  of  their  complex  cha- 
racters. Nor  does  the  conception  of  their  relationship  to  each  other 
become  clearer  when  it  is  ascertained  that  their  functions  are  con- 
stantly interchangeable,  and  that  each  may  take  the  place  of  the  other. 


104  ^'-^^  RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

constituted  is  the  triangle,  and  it  is  typified  by  the  mys- 
terious syllable  Aitm. 

according  to  the  sentiment  expressed  by  the  greatest  of  Indian  poets, 
Kalidasa : 

*  In  those  three  persons  the  one  God  was  shown — 
Each  first  in  place,  each  last — not  one  alone ; 
Of  Siva,  Vishnu,  Brahma,  each  may  be 
First,  second,  third  among  the  blessed  three.'  " 

Hinduism,  p.  87. 

The  following  hymn  to  the  Vedic  Triad  has  a  remote  likeness  to  our 
Christian  doxology: 

"  Indra,  twin-brother  of  the  god  of  fire  ! 
When  thou  wast  born,  thy  mother  Aditi 
Gave  thee,  her  lusty  child,  the  thrilling  draught 
Of  mountain-growing  soma — source  of  life 
And  never-dying  vigor  to  thy  frame. 
Thou  art  our  guardian,  advocate  and  friend, 
A  brother,  father,  mother,  all  combined. 
Most  fatherly  of  fathers,  we  are  thine 
And  thou  art  ours.     Oh  let  thy  pitying  soul 
Turn  to  us  in  compassion  when  we  praise  thee, 
And  slay  us  not  for  one  sin  or  for  many. 
Deliver  us  to-day,  to-morrow,  eveiy  day. 
Vainly  the  demon  dares  thy  might ;  in  vain 
Strives  to  deprive  us  of  thy  watery  treasures. 
Earth  quakes  beneath  the  crashing  of  thy  bolts. 
Pierced,  shattered,  lies  the  foe,  his  cities  cinshed. 
His  armies  overthrown,  his  fortresses 
Shivered  to  fragments ;  then  the  pent-up  waters, 
Released  from  long  imprisonment,  descend 
In  torrents  to  the  earth,  and  swollen  rivers, 
Foaming  and  rolling  to  their  ocean  home. 
Proclaim  the  triumph  of  the  Thunderer. 

"  Agni,  thou  art  a  sage,  a  priest,  a  king, 
Protector,  father  of  the  sacrifice. 
Commissioned  by  us  men,  thou  dost  ascend 
A  messenger,  conveying  to  the  sky 


BRAHMANISM.  I05 

The  first  member  of  the  triad,  Brahma,  is  a  personifi- 
cation of  Brahm,  the  divine  essence. 

The  second,  "  the  three-eyed,  thousand-named  Siva," 
is  the  god  who  presides  over  the  convulsions  of  nature. 
His  image  is  adorned  with  a  necklace  of  human  skulls. 
He  craves  blood,  the  blood  of  children,  of  widows  and 
\  slaves. 

Our  hymns  and  offerings.     Though  thy  origin 
Be  threefold,  now  from  air  and  now  from  water, 
Now  from  the  mystic  double  Arani, 
Thou  art  thyself  a  mighty  god,  a  lord, 
Giver  of  life  and  immortality, 
One  in  thy  essence,  but  to  mortals  three ; 
Displaying  thine  eternal  triple  form 
As  fire  on  earth,  as  lightning  in  the  air, 
As  sun  in  heaven.     Thou  art  the  cherished  guest 
^"^  In  every  household — father,  brother,  son, 

Friend,  benefactor,  guardian,  all  in  one. 
Deliver,  mighty  lord,  thy  worshipers  ; 
Purge  us  from  taint  of  sin,  and  when  we  die 
Deal  mercifully  with  us  on  the  pyre, 
Burning  our  bodies  with  their  load  of  guilt, 
But  bearing  our  eternal  part  on  high 
To  luminous  abodes  and  realms  of  bliss, 
For  ever  there  to  dwell  with  righteous  men. 

"  Behold  the  rays  of  dawn,  like  heralds,  lead  on  high 
SURYA,  that  men  may  see  the  great  all-knowing  god. 
The  stars  slink  off  like  thieves  in  company  with  night 
Before  the  all -seeing  eye,  whose  beams  reveal  his  presence. 
Gleaming  like  brilliant  flames,  to  nation  after  nation. 
Surya,  with  flaming  locks,  clear-sighted  god  of  day  ! 
Thy  seven  ruddy  mares  bear  on  thy  rushing  car. 
With  these,  thy  self-yoked  steeds,  seven  daughters  of  thy  chariot, 
Onward  thou  dost  advance.     To  thy  refulgent  orb. 
Beyond  this  lower  gloom  and  upward  to  the  light, 
Would  we  ascend,  O  Sun,  thou  god  among  the  gods." 

Hinduism,  pp.  28-30. 


I06  THE  RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

The  third,  Vishnu,  is  the  great  helper.  He  is  wor- 
shiped as  the  day-god.  With  three  steps  he  measures 
the  heavens — sunrise,  noon  and  sunset.  Once  and 
again  has  he  come  upon  earth  to  save  it  from  the  ruth- 
less hands  of  Siva.  These  descents  are  known  as 
avatars^  or  incarnations.  Nine  avatars  are  celebrated 
in  epic  Verse ;  the  tenth,  still  future,  is  to  usher  in  the 
golden  age. 

Soma. — Next  in  order  after  the  triad  is  the  god 
Soma.  This  is  a  deification  of  the  fermented  juice 
of  the  moon-plant,^  and  is  adored  as  the  giver  of 
strength.  The  worshiper,  taking  from  his  lips  the 
emptied  cup,  sings, 

"  We've  quaffed  the  soma  bright, 

And  are  immortal  grown ; 
We've  entered  into  light, 

And  all  the  gods  have  known. 
What  mortal  now  can  harm 

Or  foeman  vex  us  more  ? 
Through  thee,  beyond  alarm, 

Immortal  god!  we  soar." 

Gnnga. — We  must  not  omit,  moreover,  the  goddess 
Gunga,  a  divine  personification  of  the  river  Ganges, 
"  born  on  the  snow-capped  ranges  of  the  Himalayas 
from  the  forehead  of  Brahm."  To  follow  the  Ganges 
on  foot  from  its  mouth  to  its  source  is  regarded  as  an 

^  "  Asclepias  acida  is  the  botanical  name  of  this  plant.  From  its 
juice  can  be  concocted  an  alcoholic  drink  which  was  much  cherished 
by  the  Indians  and  Persians  (by  the  latter  called  ho/fia),  and  which 
played  an  important  part  in  their  ritual.  The  soma- drink  was  a  sacra- 
mental draught,  and  as  such  corresponded  to  the  mystic  millet-water 
of  the  Eleusinian  celebrations." — Keary's  Outlines  of  Primitive  Be- 
lief p.  102. 


BRAHMANISM.  10/ 

act  of  special  merit.     The  pilgrimage  requires  about 
six  years.^ 

1 "  As  the  Ganges  was  the  most  majestic,  so  it  soon  became  the  holiest 
and  most  revered,  of  all  rivers.  No  sin  was  too  heinous  to  be  removed, 
no  character  too  black  to  be  washed  clean,  by  its  waters.  Hence  the 
countless  temples  with  flights  of  steps  lining  its  banks ;  hence  the  array 
of  priests  called  'Sons  of  the  Ganges'  sitting  on  the  edge  of  its 
streams,  ready  to  aid  the  ablutions  of  conscience-stricken  bathers  and 
stamp  them  as  white-washed  when  they  emerge  from  its  waters.  Hence 
also  the  constant  traffic  carried  on  in  transporting  Ganges-water  in  small 
bottles  to  all  parts  of  the  country." — Hinduism,  p.  172. 


THE   DESCENT  OF  THE   GANGES.    ' 

[Fron  the  Ramayana,  by  the  poet  Valmiki.) 

"•  From  the  high  heaven  burst  Ganges  forth,  first  on  Siva's  lofty  crown ; 
Headlong  then,  and  prone  to  earth,  thundering  rushed  the  cataract 

down. 
Swarms  of  bright-hued  fish  came  dashing ;  turtles,  dolphins,  in  their 

mirth. 
Fallen  or  falling,  glancing,  flashing,  to  the  many-gleaming  earth ; 
And  all  the  hosts  of  heaven  came  down,  sprites  and  genii,  in  amaze. 
And  each  forsook  his  heavenly  throne  upon  that  glorious  scene  to  gaze. 
On  cars,  like  high-towered  cities,  seen,  with  elephants  and  couriers 

rode. 
Or  on  soft-swinging  palanquin  lay  wondering,  each  observant  god. 
As  met  in  bright  divan  each  god,  and  flashed  their  jeweled  vestures' 

rays. 
The  coruscating  ether  glowed  as  with  a  hundred  suns  ablaze, 
And  in  ten  thousand  sparkles  bright  and  flashing  up  the  cloudy  spray, 
The  snowy-flocking  swans  less  white,  within  its  glittering  mists  at  play. 
And  headlong  now  poured  down  the  flood,  and  now  in  silver  circlets 

wound ; 
Then  lake-like  spread,  all  bright  and  broad,  then  gently,  gently  flowed 

around ; 
Then   'neath  the   caverned  earth  descending,  then   spouted   up  tHS 

boiling  tide ; 
Then  stream  with  stream,  harmonious  blending,  swell  bubbling  up 

or  smooth  subside. 


I08      THE  RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD, 

Gods  Many. — After  these  come  the  sacred  cows, 
typifying  the  all-yielding  earth,  and  worshiped  by 
pouring  oil  upon  their  feet  and  water  upon  their 
horns.^  Then  stars,  serpents,  monkeys,  stones,  trees. 
There  is  a  tree  whereof  the  trunk  is  said  to  represent 
one  of  the  great  gods,  and  every  branch  and  twig  and 
leaf  an  inferior  one.  Nature  is  ransacked  for  gods, 
and,  nature  being  exhausted,  men  with  elephants* 
heads  are  conjured  up,  and  images  of  all  imaginable 
grotesque  and  uncouth  shapes.  These  are  India's 
gods. 

The  Creed. — The  creed  of  Brahmanism  is  briefly  set 
forth  in  *^  The  Six  Elements,"  which  are  as  follows : 

1st.  The  soul  is  sempiternal ;  that  is,  pre-existent  and 
immortal. 

2d.  The  substance  or  matter  out  of  which  the  uni- 
verse has  been  evolved  is  sempiternal. 

3d.  The  soul  can  only  act  when  it  is  invested  with  a 
bodily  form  and  united  with  mind. 

4th.  This  union  of  soul  and  body  is  bondage  and 
productive  only  of  misery. 

5th.  The  law  of  consequences  requires  that  the  soul 
shall  pass  through  various  forms  of  life,  wherein  it  re- 
ceives its  just  apportionment  of  suffering  and  reward. 

6th.  This  transmigration  of  the  soul  through  a  sue- 
By  that  heaven-welling  water's  breast  the  genii  and  the  sages  stood; 
Its  sanctifying  dews  they  blessed,  and  plunged  within  the  lustral  flood." 

— MiLMAN. 

r*  "  When  a  Brahman  is  dying,  though  he  may  have  prayed  ten  hours 
daily,  yet  all  his  friends  can  do  is  to  clasp  his  hands  about  the  tail  of  a 
cow.  The  man  cries  in  hopelessness  of  uncertainty,  '  Where  am  I 
going?'  " — Homiletical  Review,  July,  1 885. 


BRAHMANISM.  IO9 

cession  of  bodies  must  continue  until  all  personality  is 
at  length  merged  and  absorbed  in  the  Universal  Soul. 

It  is  plain  that  the  Brahmans  believe  in  immortality, 
but  not  in  ever-conscious  being.  Death  is  an  end  of 
consciousness  to  such  as  are  prepared  for  it.  At  the 
open  grave  they  sing : 

"  Approach  thou  now  the  lap  of  earth,  thy  mother. 
The  wide-extending  earth,  the  ever-kindly; 
A  maiden  soft  as  wool  to  him  who  comes  with  gifts, 
She  shall  protect  thee  from  destruction's  besom."  ^ 

They  dream  not  of  a  resurrection.    In  their  philosophy 

iTHE   DIVINE   SONG. 

[From  the  Mahabh&rata,  by  the  poet  Vyasa.') 

The  Deity  addresses  the  warrior  Bharata  on  the  eve  of  battle,  assur- 
ing him  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul : 

"  The  soul,  within  its  mortal  frame,  glides  on  through  childhood,  youth 
and  age ; 
Then,  in  another  form  renewed,  renews  its  stated  course  again. 
All  indestructible  is  He  that  spread  the  living  universe ; 
And  who  is  he  that  shall  destroy  the  work  of  the  Indestructible  ? 
Corruptible  these  bodies  are  that  wrap  the  everlasting  soul — 
The  eternal,  unimaginable  soul.     Whence  on  to  battle,  Bharata ! 
For  he  that  thinks  to  slay  the  soul  or  he  that  thinks  the  soul  is  slain 
Are  fondly  both  alike  deceived  :  it  is  not  slain — it  slayeth  not ; 
It  is  not  born — it  doth  not  die ;  past,  present,  future,  knows  it  not ; 
Ancient,  eternal  and  unchanged,  it  dies  not  with  the  dying  frame. 
Who  knows  it  incorruptible  and  everlasting  and  unborn. 
What  heeds  he  whether  he  may  slay  or  fall  himself  in  battle  slain? 
As  their  old  garments  men  cast  off,  anon  new  raiment  to  assume, 
So  casts  the  soul  its  worn-out  frame  and  takes  at  once  another  form. 
The  weapon  cannot  pierce  it  through,  nor  wastes  it  the  consuming  fire; 
The  liquid  waters  melt  it  not,  nor  dries  it  up  the  parching  wind ; 
Impenetrable  and  unburned,  impermeable  and  undried. 
Perpetual,  ever-wandering,  firm,  indissoluble,  permanent. 
Invisible,  unspeakable." — Milman. 


no  THE  RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

there  is  nothing  corresponding  to  the  Christian's  heaven 
— no  Father's  house,  no  future  recognition,  no  *'  knitting 
severed  friendships  up."  Their  supreme  hope  is  to  pass 
as  rapidly  as  possible  from  one  form  of  life  into  another 
until  finally  absorbed  in  that  infinite  Nothing  which 
they  call  Brahm  or  the  all-pervading  Soul. 

Salvation. — They  believe  in  salvation,  but  from  what? 
From  sin  or  spiritual  death  ?  No,  indeed.  They  look 
for  a  deliverance  from  life  itself;  that  is,  from  self-con- 
scious being,  for  being  is  the  sum-total  of  evils.  To 
escape  from  self,  to  lose  personality  by  being  merged 
in  Brahm, — this  is  salvation. 

"  Thou  that  would' st  find  the  lost  One,  lose  thyself: 
Nothing  but  self  thyself  from  him  divides." 

They  call  it  apavarga^  to  be  swallowed  up,  like  a  par- 
ticle of  water  exhaled  by  the  sun's  rays,  floating  in 
vapor,  falling  again  as  a  raindrop  into  the  sea. 

"  What  shall  I  Do  to  be  Saved  f — How  is  this  ab- 
sorption to  be  accomplished  ?  In  other  words,  What 
is  the  Brahman's  "  plan  of  salvation  "  ? 

It  is  twofold,  theoretically. 

First,  bhakti,  or  "  salvation  by  faith."  This  is  only 
for  the  select  few.  The  word  "  faith  "  must  be  under- 
stood as  meaning  an  absolute  belief  in  the  most  ex- 
travagant miracles  and  legendary  tales,  an  unreasoning 
assent  to  everything  in  the  Vedas  however  preposter- 
ous, and  an  unreserved  yielding  up  of  self  to  the  con- 
templation of  Brahm. 

Second,  karma,  or  "  salvation  by  works."  This  is 
for  the  great  multitude,  who  cannot  conceive  of  religion 


BRAHMANISM.  1 1 1 

except  as  a  process  of  merit-making.  For  them  deliv- 
erance is  bought  by  pious  acts  of  prayer,  austerity  and 
sacrifice. 

In  fact,  however,  the  adherents  of  this  religion  are 
all  believers  in  the  efficacy  of  works.  The  "  faith  "  of 
the  Brahman  is  itself  pre-eminently  a  meritorious  work. 
He  hopes  for  deliverance  by  bathing  in  the  Ganges, 
eating  clarified  butter,  holding  the  breath  while  read- 
ing a  set  portion  of  the  Vedas,  quaffing  the  dust  raised 
by  the  hoofs  of  sacred  cows,  repeating  over  and  over 
again  the  mystic  syllable  Aitm  or  keeping  the  mind  in 
fixed  contemplation  of  Brahm.  The  most  meritorious- 
prayer  in  the  Hindu  ritual  is  called  Gayatriy  and  is  as 
follows : 


"  Let  us  in  silent  adoration  yearn 
After  the  Deity,  the  radiant  Sun 
Who  all  illumes  and  who  all  creates, 
From  whom  all  come,  to  whom  all  must  return, 
Whom  we  invoke  to  guide  our  minds  and  feet 
In  our  slow  progress  toward  his  heavenly  seat." 


Those  who  aspire  to  great  sanctity  are  accustomed  to 
repeat  this  prayer  as  many  as  a  hundred  and  twenty- 
eight  times  at  each  of  the  daily  periods  of  devotion, 
morning,  noon  and  sunset. 

^  The  Twice-born  Yogi. — If  you  would  discover  a 
Hindu  saint,  you  must  search  by  the  roadside.  You 
will  find  him  there,  crouching  upon  his  knees,  naked, 
with  hair  uncombed  these  many  years,  the  Vedas  open 
before  him.  His  body  is  smeared  with  ashes  and  dung. 
His  countenance  wears  a  look  of  utter  stupidity.   This 


112  THE  RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

is  the  twice-born  Yogi/  the  consummate  fruit  of  Brah- 
manism.  This  is  the  answer  of  the  sacred  books  to 
the  old  question,  What  shall  I  do  to  be  saved  ?  The 
twice-born  Yogi  is  losing  himself  in  Brahm.  He  has 
no  longer  any  consciousness  of  guilt,  passion  or  appe- 
tite, and  moves  not  save  when,  with  a  spiritual  pride 
which  would  be  supremely  ludicrous  were  it  not  so 
lamentable,  he  lifts  his  dreamy  eyes  and  mutters,  "  I 
am  God  !  I  am  God  !"  Thus  **  the  highest  attainment 
of  the  Brahman  devotee  is  blasphemy,"  and  with  this 
blasphemy  on  his  lips  he  lives  uselessly  and  stolidly 
dies.^ 

^  "  The  three  upper  castes  are  styled  *  the  twice-born,'  because  their 
sons  are  initiated  into  the  study  of  the  Veda,  the  management  of  the 
sacred  fire  and  of  the  purifying  rites  by  a  singular  ceremony — the  rite 
of  conducting  a  boy  to  a  spiritual  teacher — connected  with  which  is  the 
investiture  with  the  sacred  cord,  ordinarily  worn  over  the  left  shoulder 
and  under  the  right  arm." — Schaff-Herzog  Encyclopedia^  article  "Brah- 


manism." 


2  "  That  holy  man  who  stands  immovable, 
As  if  erect  upon  a  pinnacle, 
His  appetites  and  organs  all  subdued, 
Sated  with  knowledge  secular  and  sacred, 
To  whom  a  lump  of  earth,  a  stone  or  gold, 
To  whom  friends,  relatives,  acquaintances, 
Neutrals  and  enemies,  the  good  and  bad, 
Are  all  alike,  is  called  'one  yoked  with  God.,'. 
The  man  who  aims  at  that  supreme  condition 
Of  perfect  yoking  with  the  Deity 
Must  first  of  all  be  moderate  in  all  things, 
In  food,  in  sleep,  in  vigilance,  in  action, 
In  exercise  and  recreation.     Then 
Let  him,  if  seeking  God  by  deep  abstraction, 
Abandon  his  possessions  and  his  hopes, 
Betake  himself  to  some  secluded  spot, 
And  fix  his  heart  and  thoughts  on  God  alone. 


BRAHMANISM.  1 1 3 

III.  The  Results, — What,  now,  are  the  results  ?  For 
this  is  the  crucial  test  of  all  religious  systems.  By  their 
fruits  ye  shall  know  them. 

N'o  Personal  Responsibility. — To  begin  with,  Brah- 
manism  is  incapable  of  producing  morality  as  such, 
because  it  ignores  the  deep-founded  and  eternal  dis- 
tinctions between  right  and  wrong.  It  has,  indeed,  no 
ground  whereon  to  determine  the  moral  quality  of  any 
act.^     To  hurt  a  Brahman  or  a  cow  is  regarded  as  a 

There  let  him  choose  a  seat,  not  high  nor  low, 

And  with  a  cloth  or  skin  to  cover  him, 

And  kusa-grass  beneath  him,  let  him  sit 

Firm  and  erect,  his  body,  head  and  neck 

Straight  and  immovable,  his  eyes  directed 

Toward  a  single  point,  not  looking  round, 

Devoid  of  passion,  free  from  anxious  thought, 

His  heart  restrained  and  deep  in  meditation. 

E'en  as  a  tortoise  draws  its  head  and  feet 

"Within  its  shell,  so  must  he  keep  his  organs 

Withdrawn  from  sensual  objects.     He  whose  senses 

Are  well  controlled  attains  to  sacred  knowledge, 

And  thence  obtains  tranquillity  of  thought. 

Without  quiescence  there  can  be  no  bliss. 

E'en  as  a  storm-tossed  ship  upon  the  waves, 

So  is  the  man  whose  heart  obeys  his  passions. 

Which  like  the  winds  will  hurry  him  away.     Quiescence, 

Quiescence,  is  the  state  of  the  Supreme. 

He  who,  intent  on  meditation,  joins 

His  soul  with  the  Supreme,  is  like  a  flame 

That  flickers  not  when  sheltered  from  the  wind." 

— Hinduism,  p.  210. 
1  "  The  Institutes  of  Manu  regulated  the  moral  and  social  life  of  the 
people,  prescribing  certain  rules  for  the  government  of  society  and  the 
punishment  of  crimes.  Purity  of  life  was  enjoined  on  all.  One  of  the 
chief  duties  was  to  honor  father  and  mother — the  mother  a  thousand 
times  the  most — and  the  Brahman  more  than  either.  Widows  are  for- 
bidden to  remarry,  and  the  duties  of  a  wife  are  thus  described :  '  The 
8 


114  THE   RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

mortal  sin,  while  to  lie,  steal  and  commit  all  kinds  of 
unmentionable  vileness  are  mere  peccadilloes.  The 
independent  being  or  personality  of  the  soul  being 
denied,  there  can  be  no  personal  responsibility  or 
hindrance  to  an  evil  life.  Tell  a  pundit  that  he  is 
guilty  of  theft  or  lying,  and  his  answer  is,  "  God  is 
everywhere — in  you,  in  me,  in  everything  around  us. 
He  enables  me  to  move  my  lips  and  to  extend  my 
hands.  If,  therefore,  I  have  lied  or  stolen,  the  blame 
must  be  laid  on  Him  who  lives  and  acts  in  me."  Dr. 
Caird  says  :  "  The  hidden  logic  of  pantheism  leads,  by 
natural  sequence,  to  a  fatalistic  morality — a  morality 
which  tolerates  or  sanctions  the  vices  that  spring  from 
the  natural  desires.  For  moral  distinctions  disappear 
in  a  religion  which  conceives  of  God  as  no  nearer  to 
the  pure  heart  than  to  that  which  is  the  haunt  of  selfish 
and  sensual  lusts.    The  lowest  appetites  and  the  loftiest 

wife  must  always  be  in  a  cheerful  temper,  devoting  herself  to  the  good 
management  of  the  household,  taking  great  care  of  the  furniture  and 
keeping  down  all  expenses  with  a  frugal  hand.  The  husband  to  whom 
her  father  has  given  her  she  must  obsequiously  honor  while  he  lives, 
and  never  neglect  him  when  he  dies.  The  husband  gives  bliss  con- 
tinually to  his  wife  here  below,  and  he  will  give  her  happiness  in  the 
next  world.  He  must  be  constantly  revered  as  a  god  by  a  virtuous 
wife,  even  if  he  does  not  observe  approved  usages  or  is  devoid  of  good 
qualities.  A  faithful  wife,  who  wishes  to  attain  heaven  and  dwell  there 
with  her  husband,  must  never  do  anything  unkind  toward  him,  whether 
he  be  living  or  dead.'  The  following  was  the  punishment  for  killing 
a  cow,  an  animal  treated  with  the  honors  due  to  a  deity  :  '  All  day  the 
guilty  must  wait  on  a  herd  of  cows,  and  stand  quaffing  the  dust  raised 
by  their  hoofs.  Free  from  passion,  he  must  stand  when  they  stand, 
follow  when  they  move,  lie  down  near  them  when  they  lie  down.  By 
thus  waiting  on  a  herd  for  three  months  he  who  has  killed  a  cow  atones 
for  his  guilt.'  " — QuACKENBOS's  Ancietit  Literature,  p.  39. 


BRAHMANISM.  1 1 5 

moral  aspirations,  the  grossest  impurities  and  the  most 
heroic  virtues,  are  alike  consecrated  by  the  presence 
of  God." 

"  Like  Gods,  like  People!' — On  the  other  hand,  the 
sanctions  of  morahty  are  equally  impaired  among  the 
masses,  who,  unable  to  penetrate  the  inner  sanctuary 
of  pantheism,  are  content  to  worship  the  common 
gods.  It  is  a  true  saying,  "  Like  gods,  like  people." 
The  gods  of  the  Hindus  are  vile.  The  best  of  them, 
Vishnu  the  Helper,  is  a  false  and  cruel  monster.  How 
can  a  people  bowing  in  worship  before  the  altars  of 
divine  thieves,  liars,  murderers  and  adulterers  be  other- 
wise than  immoral  ?  Said  the  Abbe  du  Bois,  a  mis- 
sionary at  Mysore :  "  I  have  never  yet  seen  a  religious 
procession  in  India  without  its  presenting  to  me  the 
image  of  hell."  Add  to  that  the  testimony  of  Bishop 
Heber,  also  a  missionary,  who  said :  "  I  have  never 
met  with  a  race  of  men  whose  standard  of  morality 
is  so  low,  whose  ordinary  conversation  is  so  vile,  who 
shed  blood  with  so  little  repugnance."  Thus  in  India 
we  behold  an  utter  divorcement  of  religion  and  mo- 
rality. A  large  proportion  of  the  inmates  of  prisons 
are  of  the  Brahman  caste."  "  The  Hindu  mind,"  says 
James  Freeman  Clarke,  "  is  singularly  pious,  but  also 
singularly  immoral,  capable  at  once  of  loftiest  thoughts 
and  of  basest  deeds."  India  is  the  land  of  the  old-time 
suttee,  of  almost  universal  sensuality,  of  abject  in- 
dolence and  beggary,  of  false  social  distinctions,  of 
thuggism  and  infanticide,  and  of  woman's  imprison- 
ment in  the  zenana. 

This  is  what  Brahmanism,  with  its  one  transcendental 


Il6  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

Brahm  and  its  three  hundred  and  thirty  milhons  of 
common  gods,  has  been  able  to  do  for  the  proud 
Aryans  in  a  period  of  three  thousand  years.  Is  this 
religion  true  or  false? 

A  Better  Day  Dawning. — Blessed  be  God  !  a  better 
day  is  dawning  for  India.  The  flag  that  floats  above 
her  cities'  gates  is  that  of  a  Christian  nation,  and  the 
name  of  Jesus,  before  which  the  walls  and  battle- 
ments of  venerable  usage  are  as  spiders'  webs,  is 
being  preached  beneath  her  banyan  trees.  In  the 
sacred  city  of  Benares — where  not  many  years  ago  a 
missionary  was  stoned  for  polluting  with  his  feet  the 
sacred  river — a  company  of  native  Christians  are  wont 
to  worship  God  by  the  river-side.  Max  Muller  says : 
'*  Brahmanism  is  dead  and  gone."  There  is  a  tradition 
among  the  people  that  the  old  faith  of  the  Aryans  is 
to  be  supplanted  in  fullness  of  time  by  another  coming 
from  the  distant  West.  That  time,  let  us  believe,  is 
drawing  nigh.  It  cannot  be  long  ere  Christ,  assuming 
in  fulfillment  of  prophecy  the  place  of  the  tenth  avatar 
of  Vishnu,  shall  usher  in  the  golden  age.^ 

An  address  was  delivered  some  years  ago  by  Baboo 

'VJ  "  Said  a  Hindu  to  one  of  our  missionaries:  '  Reviling  our  gods, 
criticising  our  shastras  and  ridiculing  our  ritual  will  accomplish  nothing. 
But  the  story  you  tell  of  Him  who  loved  and  died — that  story,  sir,  will 
overthrow  our  temples,  destroy  our  ritual,  abolish  our  shastras  and  ex- 
tinguish our  gods.'  In  the  year  1800  the  first  Hindu  convert  was  bap- 
tized in  the  Ganges,  Krishna  Pal  by  name.  He  was  sorely  persecuted; 
but  his  reply  was,  '  I  have  been  a  great  sinner.  I  heard  of  Christ,  that 
he  laid  down  his  life  for  sinners.  I  thought.  What  love  is  this !  Now, 
say,  if  anything  like  this  love  was  ever  shown  by  any  of  your  gods? 
Did  Doorga  or  Kale  or  Krishna  die  for  sinners  ?'  Self-prompted,  he 
erected  the  first  native  place  of  worship  in   Bengal.     In  one  of  the 


BRAHMA  NISM.  1 1 7 

Chunder  Sen — not  a  Christian  himself,  but  a  learned 
Brahman  weary  of  his  ancestral  faith — in  which  he 
S^ed  these  words  :  "  Who  rules  India  ?  What  power 
is  it  that  sways  our  destinies  at  the  present  moment  ? 
You  are  mistaken  if  you  think  it  is  Lord  Lytton  in  the 
Cabinet  or  the  military  genius  of  Sir  Frederick  Haines 
in  the  field  that  rules  India.  It  is  not  politics,  it  is  not 
diplomacy,  that  has  laid  a  firm  hold  of  the  Indian  heart. 
It  is  not  the  glittering  bayonet  nor  the  fiery  cannon  that 
influences  us.  Armies  never  conquered  the  heart  of  a 
nation.  No !  If  you  wish  to  secure  the  allegiance  of 
India,  it  must  be  by  exercising  a  spiritual  influence. 
And  such,  indeed,  has  been  the  case.  You  cannot 
deny  that  our  hearts  have  been  touched  and  conquered 
by  the  superior  power.  This  power  is  Christ.  Christ 
rules  India.  England  has  sent  us  a  tremendous  moral 
force  in  the  life  and  character  of  that  mighty  Prophet 
to  conquer  and  hold  this  empire.  None  but  Jesus — 
none  but  Jesus — none  but  Jesus  ever  deserved  this 
bright,  this  precious  diadem,  India;  and  Jesus  shall 
have  it." 

hymns  he  wrote  he,  coming  from  dark  idolatry,  expresses  the  senti- 
ments of  all  who  feel  themselves  redeemed  by  propitiatory  love; 

*  O  thou,  my  soul,  forget  no  more 

The  Friend  who  all  thy  sorrows  bore ! 

Let  every  idol  be  forgot, 

But,  O  my  soul,  forget  him  not ! 

*  Jesus  for  thee  a  body  takes, 

Thy  guilt  assumes,  thy  fetters  breaks. 
Discharging  all  thy  dreadful  debt ; 
And  canst  thou  e'er  such  love  forget  ?'  " 

— Mo7iday  Club,  for  1 879,  p.  401. 


V. 

BUDDHISM, 


I.  Its  Founder :  Gautama,  "  the  Buddha." 
II.  Sacred  Books  :  Tripitaka,  or  "The  Three  Baskets." 
III.   Theology  :  "The  Four  Truths"  and  "The  Noble  Eight- 
fold Path." 

(i)  Btidd/i,  or  the  Universal  Mind. 

(2)  Karma,  or  the  Law  of  Consequences. 

(3)  Nirvajta,  or  Annihilation. 
Central  Thought:  Self-culture. 

^' What  shall  I  do  to  be  saved  f     Be  sublimely  indifferent  to 
everything. 


V.  BUDDHISM. 

The  Aryans  who  came  over  the  Hindu-Kush  Moun- 
tains about  1200  B.  c.  brought  with  them  the  reHgion 
of  the  Rig- Veda.  In  course  of  time  they  pushed  their 
way  to  a  supreme  place  among  the  inhabitants,  arro- 
gating to  themselves  the  title  of  Brahmans,  or  priests 
of  Brahm.  In  their  hands  the  philosophy  of  the  Rig- 
Veda  grew  into  thousands  of  tomes  and  developed  into 
the  rarest  and  most  ethereal  pantheism,  and  its  morality 
degenerated  at  length  into  a  system  of  rites  and  cere- 
monies whose  end  was  merely  the  maintenance  of  the 
sacerdotal  caste  in  a  life  of  dreamy  indolence.  The 
people  meanwhile,  following  their  blind  guides,  wan- 
dered farther  and  farther  from  the  true  God.  Their 
spiritual  nature  was  cramped  and  crushed  in  the  coils 
of  a  ritualism  as  pitiless  and  deadly  as  the  serpents  of 
Tenedos,  and  if  they  looked  above  the  heads  of  their 
priests  for  relief,  lo !  there  was  the  stony,  smiling  face 
of  Brahm.  But  in  the  good  providence  of  our  Father 
there  is  no  pain  without  its  remedy,  no  night  without 
a  morning ;  the  darkest  hour  is  that  which  unfolds  the 
surest  prophecy  of  dawn. 

I.  Birth  of  Gautama. — In  the  year  447  b.  c.^  a  child 

was  born  in  the  palace  at  Kapilavastu,  the  royal  city 

1  James  Freeman  Clarke  makes  it  623  b.  c.  ;  Rhys  Davids,  500  b.  c. 

121 


122  THE  RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

of  Oude,  who  was  destined  to  turn  and  overturn  the 
existing  order  of  things.  His  family  name  was  Gautama. 
If  we  are  to  form  a  just  conception  of  Buddhism,  it 
will  be  necessary,  first  of  all,  to  know  something  of  this 
wonderful  child,  for  he  was  at  once  its  founder,  exem- 
plar, preacher  and  god. 

His  birth,  according  to  the  sacred  traditions,  was  on 
this  wise :  By  the  side  of  the  river  Rohini,  in  a  grove 
of  lofty  satin  trees,  he  first  opened  his  eyes  upon  the 
world.  Angels  were  there  to  bid  him  welcome ;  the 
sun  stood  still,  casting  a  shadow  over  the  sacred  spot 
where  he  lay.  Immediately  after  his  birth  the  child 
walked  three  paces,  and  in  a  voice  like  thunder  pro- 
claimed a  new  name,  Siddartha^  "  the  fulfillment  of 
wishes."^  At  that  moment  "  a  radiant  light  was  spread 
over  ten  thousand  worlds.  The  blind  saw,  the  dumb 
spake  ;  prisoners  were  loosed  from  their  chains  ;  refresh- 
ing winds  blew  gently  over  the  earth;  lotus- flowers 
were  suddenly  opened  in  full  bloom ;  lilies  dropped 
from  the  sky;  the  air  was  filled  with  perfume  and  with 
songs  of  angels  echoing  far  and  near."  It  was  known 
thus  from  the  beginning  that  he  was  destined  to  a 
place  of  unusual  prominence.     At  five  months  of  age 

1  "To  the  pious  Buddhist,"  says  Rhys  Davids  (p.  28  of  Biiddhis77i^ 
to  which  the  writer  acknowledges  special  obligation  for  material  used  in 
the  preparation  of  this  chapter), "  it  seems  irreverent  to  speak  of  Gautama 
by  his  mere  ordinaiy  name,  and  he  makes  use,  therefore,  of  one  of  those 
numerous  epithets  which  are  used  only  of  the  Buddha,  the  Enlightened 
One.  Such  are  Sakya-sina,  *  the  lion  of  the  tribe  of  Sakya ;'  Sakya- 
muni, '  the  Sakya  sage ;'  Sugata,  *  the  happy  one ;'  Sattha,  '  the  teacher  ;* 
Jina,  'the  conqueror;'  Bhagava,  '  the  blessed  one;'  Loka-natha,  *  the 
Lord  of  the  world  ;'  Sarvajna,  *  the  omniscient  one;'  Dharma-raja, '  the 
king  of  righteousness,'  and  many  others." 


BUDDHISM.  12  S 

the  infant,  being  left  under  a  tree  alone,  meditated  so 
deeply  that  he  fell  into  a  trance ;  when  his  nurse  re- 
turned she  saw  him  crowned  with  a  halo  of  light,  and 
overhead,  kneeling  in  the  clouds,  were  three  wise  men 
with  flowing  beards  who  chanted  a  prophecy :  "  This 
child  shall  be  the  teacher  of  a  law  which  shall  be  as 
water  to  extinguish  the  fiery  griefs  of  life,  as  light  to 
enlighten  its  darkness,  and  as  a  chariot  to  carry  us 
through  the  wilderness  to  the  promised  land." 

His  Early  Life. — As  the  lad  grew  older  he  was  by 
his  friends  surrounded  with  all  the  delights  and  allure- 
ments of  a  worldly  life,  in  the  hope  of  weaning  him 
from  his  serious  moods.  He  was  married  to  the  beauti- 
ful princess  Yasodhara;  three  palaces  were  built  for 
him, 

"  Where  skill  had  spent 
All  lovely  phantasies  to  lull  the  mind, 
And  always  breathed  sweet  airs,  and  night  and  day 
Delicious  foods  were  spread,  and  dewy  fruits, 
Sherbets  new-chilled  with  snows  of  Himalay, 
And  sweetmeats  made  of  subtle  daintiness. 
And  night  and  day  served  there  a  chosen  band 
Of  nautch-girls,  dark-browed  ministers  of  love, 
Who  fanned  the  sleeping  eyes  of  the  happy  prince; 
And  thus  Siddartha  lived  forgetting." 

Forgetting?     Ah,  no : 

"  Still  came 
The  shadows  of  his  meditation  back. 
As  the  lake's  silver  dulls  with  driving:  clouds." 

The  prince  would  wander  away  into  the  deep  shadows 
of  the  forest  and  spend  days  together  meditating  on 
the  problems  of  life.     He  used  to  sayf^  Nothing  on 


124  THE   RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

earth  is  stable,  nothing  is  real.  Life  is  like  the  spark 
produced  by  the  friction  of  wood ;  it  is  lighted  and  ex- 
tinguished; we  know  not  whence  it  came  or  whither 
it  goes.  There  must  be  some  Supreme  Intelligence 
where  we  may  find  rest.  Oh  that  I  might  attain  it ! 
for  I  would  then  bring  light  unto  men.  If  I  were  free 
myself,  I  could  deliver  the  world."  ^  At  this  time  he 
beheld  a  threefold  vision  which  greatly  deepened  his 
weariness  of  life:  (i)  an  old  man,  bald,  wrinkled,  with 
chattering  teeth,  feebly  leaning  on  his  staff;  (2)  a  man 
suffering  from  a  loathsome  disease,  homeless,  friendless, 
dying  in  the  mire  by  the  roadside ;  (3)  a  decomposing 
corpse,  surrounded  by  mourners  shrieking  and  tearing 
their  hair.  And,  seeing  these  things,  the  prince  ex- 
claimed, "  Woe  to  youth  which  hastens  on  to  old 
age !  Woe  to  health  which  succumbs  to  so  many 
dire  diseases  !  Woe  to  life  which  ends  so  miserably! 
I  will  go  aside  and  meditate  how  I  may  bring  about 
deliverance."  This  was  the  turning-point  in  Sid- 
dartha's  life. 

"  The  Great  Renunciation^ — One  night  he  arose  from 
his  perfumed  bed,  '*  roused  into  activity,"  says  the  chron- 
icle, *'  like  one  who  is  told  that  his  house  is  burning." 
All  delights  and  luxuries  invited  him  to  stay ;  his  wife 
lay  buried  in  slumber. 

*' '  I  will  depart,'  he  said ;  •  the  hour  is  come ! 
Thy  tender  lips,  dear  sleeper,  summon  me 
To  that  which  saves  the  earth,  but  sunders  us.'  " 

Then   followed  the   great  renunciation,  Mahabhinish- 
■  i  Max  Muller. 


BUDDHISM.  125 

Kramana.  Putting  aside  the  glittering  hopes  of  empire 
and  conquest,  he  determined  to  go  forth  "  with  patient, 
stainless  feet,"  seeking  deliverance. 


P 


."  This  will  I  do,  because  the  woeful  cry 
Of  life  and  all  flesh  living  cometh  up 
Into  my  ears,  and  all  my  soul  is  full 
Of  pity  for  the  sickness  of  this  world ; 
Which  I  will  heal,  if  healing  may  be  found 
By  uttermost  renouncing."  ^ 

One  farewell  look  into  the  face  of  his  sleeping  wife, 
and  he  was  gone  out  into  the  night  alone.  This  was 
the  life  he  had  chosen — darkness,  solitude  henceforth, 
if  only  it  might  end  in  deliverance.^ 

^  Light  of  Asia. 

2  "  It  was  long  years  before  he  saw  his  home  again.  His  return,  in 
answer  to  the  summons  of  his  venerable  father,  is  thus  described ; 
Gautama  started  for  Kapilavastu,  and  on  his  arrival  there  stopped, 
according  to  his  custom,  in  a  grove  outside  the  town.  There  his  father, 
uncles  and  others  came  to  see  him,  but  the  latter  at  least  were  by  no 
means  pleased  with  their  mendicant  clansman  ;  and,  though  it  was  the 
custom  on  such  occasions  to  offer  to  provide  ascetics  with  their  daily 
food,  they  all  left  without  having  done  so.  The  next  day,  therefore, 
Gautama  set  out,  accompanied  by  his  disciples,  carrying  his  bowl  to  beg 
for  a  meal.  As  he  came  near  the  gate  of  the  little  town  he  hesitated, 
whether  he  should  not  go  straight  to  the  raja's  residence,  but  at  last  he 
determined  to  adhere  to  a  rule  of  the  order,  according  to  which  a  Buddh- 
ist mendicant  should  beg  regularly  from  house  to  house.  It  soon 
reached  the  raja's  ears  that  his  son  was  walking  through  the  streets 
begging.  Startled  at  such  news,  he  rose  up,  and,  holding  his  outer 
robe  together  with  his  hands,  went  out  quickly,  and,  hastening  to  the 
place  where  Gautama  was,  he  said,  '  Why,  master,  do  you  put  us  to 
shame  ?  Why  do  you  go  begging  for  your  food  ?  Do  you  think  it  is 
not  possible  to  provide  food  for  so  many  mendicants  ?' 

"  *  Oh,  maharaja,'  was  the  reply,  '  this  is  the  custom  of  all  our  race.' 

"  '  But  we  are  descended  from  an  illustrious  race  of  warriors,  and  not 
one  of  them  has  ever  begged  his  bread.' 

•'  *  You  and  your  family,'  answered  Gautama,  *  may  claim  descent 


126  THE  RELIGIONS   OE  THE    WORLD. 

He  sought  the  Brahman  priest  Alara,  but  found  no 
clue  to  the  great  secret.     Then  to  the  mountains  of 

from  kings ;  my  descent  is  from  the  prophets  (buddhas)  of  old,  and 
they,  begging  their  food,  have  always  lived  on  alms.  But,*my  father, 
when  a  man  has  found  a  hidden  treasure  it  is  his  duty  first  to  present 
his  father  with  the  most  precious  of  the  jewels;'  and  he  accordingly 
addressed  his  father  on  the  cardinal  tenet  of  his  doctrine,  his  words 
being  reported  in  the  form  of  two  verses  given  in  the  Dhamma- 
pada : 

*  Rise  up,  and  loiter  not ; 

Follow  after  a  holy  life  : 
"Who  follows  virtue  rests  in  bliss. 
Both  in  this  world  and  in  the  next. 

Follow  after  a  holy  life, 

Follow  not  after  sin; 
Who  follows  virtue  rests  in  bliss, 
Both  in  this  world  and  in  the  next. 

**  Suddhodana  made  no  reply  to  this,  but,  simply  taking  his  son's 
bowl,  led  him  to  his  house,  where  the  members  of  the  family  and  the 
sei-vants  of  the  household  came  to  do  him  honor;  but  Yasodhara  did 
not  come.  '  If  I  am  of  any  value  in  his  eyes,  he  will  himself  come,' 
she  had  said  :  *  I  can  welcome  him  better  here.'  Gautama  noticed  her 
absence,  and,  attended  by  two  of  his  disciples,  went  to  the  place  where 
she  was,  first  warning  his  followers  not  to  prevent  her  should  she  try 
to  embrace  him,  although  no  member  of  his  order  might  touch  or  be 
touched  by  a  woman.  When  she  saw  him  enter,  a  recluse  in  yellow 
robes  with  shaven  head  and  shaven  face,  though  she  knew  it  would  be 
so,  she  could  not  contain  herself,  and  falling  on  the  ground  she  held 
him  by  the  feet  and  burst  into  tears.  Then,  remembering  the  impassable 
gulf  between  them,  she  rose  and  stood  on  one  side.  The  raja  thought 
it  necessary  to  apologize  for  her,  telling  Gautama  how  entirely  she  had 
continued  to  love  him,  refusing  comforts  which  he  denied  himself, 
taking  but  one  meal  a  day,  and  sleeping,  not  on  a  bed,  but  on  a  mat 
spread  on  the  ground.  The  different  accounts  often  tell  us  the  thoughts 
of  the  Buddha  on  any  particular  occasion ;  here  they  are  silent,  stating 
only  that  he  then  told  a  Jataka  story,  showing  how  great  had  been  her 
virtue  in  a  former  birth.  She  became  an  earnest  hearer  of  the  new 
doctrines ;    and   when,  some  time  afterward,   much   against  his  will, 


BUDDHISM.  127 

Vindyha,  where,  entering  a  hermit's  cell,  the  fame  of 
his  holiness  spread,  says  the  chronicle, "  like  the  sound 
of  a  great  bell  hung  in  the  canopy  of  the  skies."  Here 
he  endured  a  mental  struggle  so  severe  that  his  con- 
flicting thoughts  are  represented  as  angels  of  light  and 
darkness  met  on  an  embattled  field,  while  sympathizing 
nature  yielded  a  thousand  portents :  "  The  earth  with 
its  oceans  and  mountains  quaked  like  a  conscious 
being — like  a  fond  bride  when  forcibly  torn  from  her 
bridegroom — like  the  festoons  of  a  vine  shaking  under 
the  blasts  of  a  whirlwind.  The  ocean  rose  under  this 
vibration,  and  the  rivers  rolled  back  to  their  sources. 
Peaks  of  lofty  mountains,  where  forests  had  grown  for 
ages,  rolled  crumbling  to  the  earth ;  a  fierce  storm 
howled  on  every  side ;  the  roar  of  the  concussion 
became  terrific ;  the  very  sun  enveloped  itself  in  awful 
darkness  and  a  host  of  headless  spirits  filled  the  air." 
Thus  for  heroic  days  and  weeks  the  conflict  went  on. 
At  length,  on  a  certain  memorable  day,  as  he  sat  medi- 
tating under  a  tree,  to  be  known  thenceforth  as  "  the 
sacred  bo  tree,"  ^  his  face  turned  toward  the  east,  it 

Gautama  was  induced  to  established  an  order  of  female  mendicants, 
his  widowed  wife  Yasodhara  became  one  of  the  first  of  the  Buddhist 
nuns." — Buddhism,  pp.  6\-(i(i. 

1  "  This  tree  came  to  occupy  much  the  same  position  among  the 
Buddhists  as  the  cross  among  Christians.  Worship  was  actually  paid 
to  it,  and  an  offshoot  from  it  is  still  growing  on  the  spot  where  the 
Buddhist  pilgrims  found  it,  and  where  they  believed  the  original  tree 
had  grown,  in  the  ancient  temple  at  Bodh  Gaya,  near  Rajgir,  built 
about  500  A.  D.  by  the  celebrated  Amara  Sinha.  A  branch  of  it  planted 
at  Anuradhapura  in  Ceylon,  in  the  middle  of  the  third  century  B.  c,  is 
still  growing  there — the  oldest  historical  tree  in  the  world. 

"  Sir  Emerson  Tennent  says  of  it :  '  The  bo  tree  of  Anuradhapura  is, 


128  THE  RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

came  to  him  in  a  beatific  vision,  it  came  like  a  sunburst 
— "  the  knowledge  that  can  never  be  shaken."  A  throne 
of  crystal  sprang  up  from  the  earth  beside  him ;  he 
arose  and  sat  upon  it — no  longer  Siddartha,  but  TJie 
Buddha,  ''the  Enlightened." 

"  Tiirning  the  Wheel  of  the  Lazv^ — For  a  time  he 
hesitated  whether  he  should  keep  this  knowledge  to 
himself  or  reveal  it;  but  his  feeling  of  humanity  pre- 
vailed. Burdened  with  the  wonderful  secret,  he  re- 
traced his  steps  from  the  forest,  saying, 

"  I  now  desire  to  turn  the  wheel  of  the  excellent  law. 
With  this  intent  I  go  to  the  city  of  Benares, 
To  give  light  to  those  enshrouded  in  darkness 
And  open  the  gates  of  immortality  to  men." 

The  watchword  of  his  preaching  was  "  For  all !  for 

in  all  probability,  the  oldest  historical  tree  in  the  world.  It  was  planted 
288  years  before  Christ,  and  hence  is  now  2147  years  old.  Ages  vary- 
ing from  one  to  four  thousand  years  have  been  assigned  to  the  baobabs 
of  Senegal,  the  eucalyptus  of  Tasmania,  the  dragon  tree  of  Orotava, 
the  Wellingtonia  of  California,  and  the  chestnut  of  Mount  Etna.  But 
all  these  estimates  are  matter  of  conjecture,  and  such  calculations,  how- 
ever ingenious,  must  be  purely  inferential;  whereas  the  age  of  the  bo 
tree  is  matter  of  record,  its  conservancy  has  been  an  object  of  solicitude 
to  successive  dynasties,  and  the  story  of  its  vicissitudes  has  been  pre- 
served in  a  series  of  continuous  chronicles  among  the  most  authentic 
that  have  been  handed  down  by  mankind.  Compared  with  it  the  oak 
of  Ellerslie  is  but  a  sapling,  and  the  Conqueror's  Oak  in  Windsor  Forest 
barely  numbers  half  its  years.  The  yew  trees  of  Fountains  Abbey  are 
believed  to  have  flourished  there  twelve  hundred  years  ago;  the  olives 
in  the  garden  of  Gethsemane  were  full  grown  when  the  Saracens  were 
expelled  from  Jerusalem;  and  the  cypress  of  Soma,  in  Lombardy,  is 
said  to  have  been  a  tree  in  the  time  of  Julius  Caesar ;  yet  the  bo  tree  is 
older  than  the  oldest  of  these  by  a  century,  and  would  almost  seem  to 
verify  the  prophecy  pronounced  when  it  was  planted,  that  it  would 
'  flourish  and  be  green  for  ever.'  " — Buddhisni,  pp.  39  and  232. 


BUDDHISM.  129 

all !"  No  longer  should  the  haughty  priests  of  Brahm 
monopolize  the  path  heavenward;  no  longer  should 
the  divisional  walls  of  caste  prevent  any  from  seeking 
the  great  deliverance.  Slaves,  pariahs,  sudras, — all 
were  to  be  invited  to  embrace  the  rest-giving  truth. 
On  reaching  Benares  he  called  together  his  former 
friends  and  expounded  to  them  the  truths  of  his 
philosophy,  or,  to  use  the  technical  phrase,  he  "turned 
the  wheel  of  the  law."  It  is  related  that  earth  and 
heaven  were  moved  during  the  delivery  of  this  dis- 
course :  "  The  angels  forsook  their  shining  seats  and 
came  to  hearken ;  the  sound  of  their  approach  was 
like  the  rustling  of  winds  in  a  forest,  until  at  the  blast 
of  the  archangel's  trumpet  they  became  as  still  as  a 
becalmed  sea.  Then  the  everlasting  hills,  the  founda- 
tions of  the  earth,  leaped  for  joy  and  bowed  them- 
selves before  the  blessed  one,  while  the  powers  of  the 
air  disposed  all  things  appropriately  and  the  perfumes 
of  rare  flowers  was  diffused  around.V  *The  evening 
was  like  a  lovely  maiden ;  the  stars  were  the  pearls 
upon  her  neck,  the  dark  clouds  her  braided  hair,  the 
deepening  space  her  flowing  robe.  As  a  crown  she 
had  the  heavens  where  the  angels  dwell ;  the  three 
worlds  were  as  her  body ;  her  eyes  were  the  white 
lotus-flowers  which  open  to  the  rising  moon ;  and  her 
voice  was  as  it  were  the  humming  of  bees.  To  wor- 
ship the  Buddha  and  to  hear  the  first  preaching  of  the 
word  this  lovely  maiden  came.' " 

Propagation  of  the  New  Religiofi. — It  need  scarcely 
be  said  that  a  discourse  attended  by  such  tokens  of 

supernatural  interest  was  followed  by  many  conver- 
9 


130      THE   RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

sions.  A  few  months  later  the  Buddha  called  his  dis- 
ciples together  and  sent  them  forth  upon  a  missionary 
journey.  **  Beloved  mendicants,"  said  he,  "we  are  free 
from  the  passions  which  encompass  men  and  angels. 
It  is  incumbent  on  us,  as  the  most  important  duty,  to 
labor  on  behalf  of  others  and  open  to  them  the  bless- 
ings of  the  great  deliverance.  Let  us  here  and  now 
part  with  each  other  and  go  in  various  directions,  no 
two  of  us  following  the  same  way.  Go,  preach  the 
most  excellent  Law."  This  was  the  beginning  of  the 
propagation  of  D/iarma,  the  Buddhist  system. 

The  Buddha's  Death. — The  great  teacher  was  spared 
to  gather  a  vast  multitude  of  adherents.  He  died  in 
peace,  attended  by  reverent  and  loving  friends,  to  whom 
he  addressed  these  farewell  words :  "  O  mendicants,  let 
me  impress  it  upon  you  that  the  parts  and  powers  of 
man  must  be  dissolved :  therefore  work  out  your  sal- 
vation with  all  diligence." 

Buddhism  is  to-day  one  of  the  most  prevalent  relig- 
ions of  the  earth.  Its  adherents  are  estimated  at  five 
hundred  millions.  Every  third  one  of  the  inhabitants 
of  the  globe  is  a  Buddhist.  Beginning  its  sway  in 
India,  and  driven  thence  after  a  struggle  of  a  thousand 
years,  it  moved  northward,  building  rock-cut  temples 
as  it  went,  over  Siam,  Burmah,  the  vast  empire  of  Japan 
and  considerable  portions  of  China, 

What  is  this  religion  ?  What  was  Buddha's  wonder- 
ful secret?  Half  a  century  ago  it  would  have  been 
scarcely  possible  to  answer  that  question,  but  of  late  a 
great  light  has  been  thrown  upon  this  subject  by  the 
researches  of  Oriental  scholars. 


BUDDHISM.  131 

II.  The  Sacred  Book's. — The  data  for  an  estimate  of 
Buddhism  are  to  be  found  in  the  sacred  books.  These 
are  three,  called  "  Tripitaka,"  or  The  Three  Baskets. 

1.  The  first  Pitaka  or  Basket  is  called  Sutra.  It 
contains  the  discourses  of  the  Buddha. 

2.  The  second  Basket  is  called  Dharma.  It  consists 
of  clear  presentations  of  doctrine  and  ethics  for  the 
people  generally. 

3.  The  third  Basket  is  called  Vinaya,  It  consists 
of  rules  of  discipline  for  the  priests. 

These  books  are  declared  to  have  been  written  from 
memory  by  the  disciples  of  Buddha,  who  met  for  that 
purpose  soon  after  the  great  teacher's  death  and  sat  in 
council  seven  months.  They  contain  an  amount  of 
literature  almost  bewildering,  forming  in  all  more 
than  three  hundred  volumes  folio  and  consisting  of 
29,368,000  letters.  The  market  price  of  the  Kanjur 
edition,  printed  by  command  of  the  emperor  Khian- 
Lung  of  China,  is  seven  thousand  oxen,  from  which  it 
is  evident  that  the  Buddhist  bible  is  only  for  the  select 
few.  Its  character  is  hardly  such  as  to  commend  it  to  the 
acceptance  of  enlightened  men.  What  shall  we  think 
of  a  book  claiming  to  be  inspired  and  infallible  which 
declares  the  universe  to  consist  of  multitudinous  worlds, 
circular  and  threefold,  with  an  enormous  mountain 
called  Maha-Meru  rising  from  their  midst,  surrounded 
by  concentric  circles  of  rock,  of  which  the  outer  is 
divided  into  four  quarters  or  great  continents,  our 
earth,  Jambudvipa,  heaven  and  hell,  being  parts  of  it  ? 
The  doctrinal  or  philosophical  chapters  are  so  abstruse 
and  tenuous  as  to  elude  the  grasp  of  ordinary  mortals. 


132  THE   RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

Those  portions  only  which  have  reference  to  the  con- 
duct of  daily  life  are,  for  the  most  part,  worthy  of  un- 
qualified praise.  In  illustration  of  this  statement  the 
following  precept-sentences  are  given: 

"  He  who  lives  for  pleasure  only,  his  senses  uncon- 
trolled, idle  and  weak,  the  tempter  will  as  certainly 
overcome  him  as  the  wind  breaks  the  quivering  tree." 

"  As  the  bee  gathers  nectar  and  departs  without  in- 
juring the  blossom,  so  dwelleth  a  wise  man  upon  the 
earth." 

"  The  fool  is  filled  with  evil,  though  he  gather  it  little 
by  little,  as  the  water-pot  is  filled  with  the  rain  falling 
drop  by  drop." 

"  Let  us  live  happily,  calling  nothing  our  own ;  not 
hating  our  enemies  ;  free  from  greed  among  the  greedy. 
We  shall  then  resemble  the  gods,  whose  daily  food  is 
happiness." 

Such  precepts  we  at  once  perceive  to  be  a  vast  im- 
provement on  those  of  the  Rig- Veda,  which,  as  inter- 
preted by  the  Brahmans,  had  chiefly  to  do  with  the 
feeding  of  themselves  and  the  sacred  cows.  The  intro- 
duction of  Buddhism  was  a  reformation  ^ — a  reform  as 
positive  and  fundamental  as  that  which  was  enkindled 
by  the  intrepid  zeal  of  Luther,  and  against  the  same 

1  "  What,  then,  is  Buddhism?  It  is  certainly  not  Brahmanism,  yet 
it  arose  out  of  Brahmanism,  and  from  the  first  had  much  in  common 
with  it.  Brahmanism  and  Buddhism  are  closely  interwoven  with  each 
other.  Brahmanism  is  a  religion  which  maybe  described  as  all  theology, 
for  it  makes  God  everything  and  everything  God.  Buddhism  is  no  re- 
ligion at  all,  and  certainly  no  theology,  but  rather  a  system  of  duty, 
morality  and  benevolence,  without  real  deity,  prayer  or  priest." — Monier 
Williams. 


BUDDHISM.  133 

twin  spirits  of  mysticism  and  cold  formality.  It  is  not 
without  reason,  therefore,  that  James  Freeman  Clarke 
has  called  this  religion  "  the  Protestantism  of  the 
East." 

Central  Thought:  Self -culture . — The  sacred  books 
are  largely  devoted  to  the  importance  of  self-culture  ^ 
or  the  development  of  the  intellectual  as  distinguished 
from  that  of  the  carnal  life.  This  is  indeed  the  central 
thought  of  the  Buddhist  system.  Call  it  self-control 
if  you  please,  or,  better  still,  self-renunciation,  its  per- 
fect illustration  being  found  in  "  the  great  renuncia- 
tion "  of  Gautama  himself  The  emphasis  of  the  teach- 
ing is  placed    on   the  perfecting  of  the   inward    man 

^  "  If  we  now  try  to  sum  up  the  evidence  which  we  have  gathered 
from  different  indications  respecting  Buddhism,  I  do  not  know  that  we 
can  do  it  better  than  in  the  words  of  Mr.  Hodgson,  the  Resident  at 
Nepaul,  to  whom  I  have  already  referred.  '  The  one  infallible  diag- 
nostic of  Buddhism,'  he  says  with  an  emphasis  and  decision  which 
were  the  result  of  patient  inquiries  conducted  during  many  years,  '  is  a 
belief  in  the  infinite  capacity  of  the  human  intellect.'  This  is  the  con- 
clusion to  which  all  our  inquiries  into  the  system  have  conducted  us. 
The  idea  of  an  Adi-Buddha,  or  Absolute  Eternal  Intelligence,  is  there, 
but  it  is  hidden;  it  gradually  evaporates.  The  possibility  of  utter 
atheism  is  there,  but  the  heart  flies  in  dismay  from  it.  The  vision  of  a 
unity  resulting  from  the  reconciliation  of  opposites  is  there,  but  it  either 
passes  into  a  mere  theory  or  seeks  for  images  to  express  it,  which  makes 
it  material.  The  conception  of  an  intelligent  soul  in  nature  is  there, 
but  it  quickly  resolves  itself  into  a  recognition  of  all  nature  as  sym- 
bolizing human  deeds  and  attributes.  Lastly,  the  idea  of  deified  men 
is  there,  but  this  loses  itself  in  another,  that  there  is  in  man,  in 
humanity,  a  certain  Divine  Intelligence  which  at  different  times  and 
in  different  places  manifests  itself  more  or  less  completely,  and  which 
must  have  some  one  central  manifestation.  The  human  intellect  is  first 
felt  to  be  the  perfect  organ  of  worship;  finally,  its  one  object.  This  is 
Buddhism." — F.  D.  Maurice,  in  Religions  of  the  World,  p.  83. 


134  THE  RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

in  preference  to  penance,  sacrifice  and  all  outward 
forms  of  merit-making.  Thus  it  is  written  in  the 
Pitakas : 


■i 


What  is  the  use  of  platted  hair,  O  fool  ? 
Or  what  of  a  garment  of  skins  ? 
Thy  low  passions  are  within  thee ; 
And  lo !  thou  makest  the  outside  clean."  ^ 

Never  did  preacher  chant  more  dolorously  "  all  is 
vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit "  than  does  the  Buddhist, 
Man  is  an  infinitesimal  being;  his  life  is  as  a  breath 
of  wind  passing  over  the  lotus-flower.^     The  highest 

^  **  That  mendicant  does  right  to  whom  omens,  meteors,  dreams  and 
signs  are  things  abolished ;  he  is  free  from  all  their  evils. 

"  That  mendicant  does  right  who  is  found  not  thinking,  '  People 
should  salute  me;'  who,  though  cursed  by  the  world,  yet  cherishes 
no  ill-will  toward  it. 

"That  mendicant  does  right  who  is  tranquil  and  has  completed  his 
course  ;  who  sees  tmth  as  it  really  is,  but  is  not  partial  when  there  are 
persons  of  different  faith  (to  be  dealt  with)  ;  who  with  firm  mind  over- 
comes ill-will  and  covetousness,  which  injure  men." — From  "  Rules  of 
the  Sacred  Order  "  in  the  Pitakas. 

I  2  «  A  watchman  on  a  lofty  tower  sees  a  charioteer  urging  his  horse 
Talong  the  plain :  the  driver  thinks  he  is  moving  rapidly,  and  the  horse 
in  the  pride  of  life  seems  to  scorn  the  earth  from  which  it  thinks  to  sep- 
arate itself ;  but  to  the  watchman  above  horse  and  chariot  and  driver 
seem  to  crawl  along  the  ground,  and  to  be  as  much  a  part  of  the  earth 
as  the  horse's  mane,  waving  in  the  wind,  is  a  part  of  the  horse  itself. 
As  a  child  grows  up  his  mind  reflects  as  in  a  dim  mirror  the  occur- 
rences of  the  surrounding  world,  and  practically,  though  unconsciously, 
it  regards  itself  as  the  centre  round  which  the  universe  turns.  Grad- 
ually its  circle  widens  somewhat,  but  the  grown  man  never  escapes 
from  the  delusion  of  self,  and  spends  his  life  in  a  constant  round  of 
desires  and  cares,  longing  for  objects  which  when  attained  produce  not 
happiness,  but  fresh  desires  and  cares — always  engaged  in  the  pursuit 
of  some  fancied  good.  For  the  majority  of  men  these  cares  are  mean, 
petty  and  contemptible ;  but  even  those  whose  ambition  urges  them  to 


BUDDHISM.  135 

height  of  folly,  therefore,  is  self-pleasing.  The  Buddh- 
ist who  comprehends  this  strips  himself  of  all  except 
"eight  possessions" — a  loose  robe,  two  undergarments, 
a  girdle,  a  bowl  for  alms,  a  razor,  a  needle  and  a  water- 
strainer.  Thus  reducing  the  gratification  of  the  outer 
man  to  the  very  minimum,  he  sedulously  devotes  him- 
self to  inward  culture..pj.  the  sinking  of  self  into  the 
universal  mindr- '  *  "     ' 

III.  The^ogy:  The  Creed. — The  creed  of  Buddhism  is 
briefly  set  forth  in  th^  "  Four  Truths  "  and  the  "  Noble 
Eightfold  Path."       ' 

The  Four  Truths  are  as  follows : 

(i)  All  existence  is  sorrow. 

(2)  The  cause  of  sorrow  is  thirst,  or  desire  in  what- 
ever form. 

(3)  All  sorrow  ceases  when  desire  is  slain.  This 
condition,  the  annihilation  of  feeling,  is  called  Niroana, 
**  When  a  man  overcomes  his  contemptible  thirst,  his 
sufferings  fall  from  him  as  w^ater  from  a  lotus-leaf." 

(4)  There  is  only  one  way  to  reach  this  consumma- 
tion so  devoutly  to  be  wished — to  wit,  by  the  Noble 
Eightfold  Path. 

The  Noble  Eightfold  Path  is  as  follows:  (i)  Right 
Belief,  (2)  Right  Feelings,  (3)  Right  Speech  (4)  Right 
Actions,  (5)  Right  Means  of  Livelihood,  (6)  Right  En- 
deavor, (7)  Right  Memory,  and  (8)  Right  Meditation. 
The  pursuit  of  this  path  of  self-culture  is  held  to  be 
the  chief  end  of  man. 

higher  aims  are  equally  seeking  after  vanity,  and  only  laying  themselves 
open  to  greater  sorrows  and  more  bitter  disappointment." — Buddhism^ 
p.  88. 


136  THE  RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

Out  of  this  thought  of  self-culture  radiate  the  three 
cardinal  truths — namely,  Buddh,  Karma  and  Nirvana. 
Let  us  get  these  definitely  in  mind? 
^  y/    (i)  Buddli. — Under   this   term    we    place   theology 
proper;  that  is,  the  Buddhist's  idea  of  God. 

Let  it  be  said  at  the  outset  that  he  has  no  conception 
of  Deity  as  we  understand  it.  His  creed  is  the  very 
refinement  of  atheism.  Max  Mijller  says  :  "  Buddha 
admits  no  real  cause  of  this  unreal  world.  He  denies 
the  existence  not  only  of  a  Creator,  but  of  any  absolute 
Being  whatever."  Draper,  in  his  Intellectual  Develop- 
ment of  Europe,  says  :  "  The  fundamental  principle  of 
Buddhism  is  that  there  is  a  supreme  power,  but  no 
Supreme  Being.  It  asserts  an  impelling  power  in  the 
universe,  a  self-existent  and  plastic  principle,  but  not  a 
self-existent,  an  eternal,  a  personal  God."  Dr.  Caird 
says :  "  It  reasserts  the  negative  element  involved  in 
pantheism,  and  exaggerates  it  till  not  only  every  finite 
and  anthropomorphic  ingredient,  but  every  vestige  of 
positive  thought,  vanishes  from  the  idea  of  God,  and 
we  seem  to  be  left  in  the  absolute  negation  of  atheism." 
Monier  Williams  says :  "  The  Buddha  recognized  no 
supreme  deity.  The  only  god,  he  affirmed,  is  what 
man  himself  can  become,"  Here  is  the  most  striking 
feature  of  this  religion.  All  other  faiths  are  built  upon 
a  foundation  of  theism — the  belief  in  One,  perchance 
an  unknown  One,  to  whom  souls  trembling  or  grieving 
can  lift  their  cry : 


\ 


.'*  O  thou  eternal  One,  whose  presence  bright 
All  space  doth  occupy,  all  motion  guide ; 


BUDDHISM.  137 

Unchanged  through  Time's  all-devastating  flight; 

Thou  only  One  !     Being  above  all  beings  ! 
Whom  none  can  comprehend  and  none  explore, 

Who  fiU'st  existence  with  thyself  alone; 
Embracing  all,  supporting,  ruling  o'er — 
Being  whom  we  call  God,  and  know  no  more." 


But  Buddhism  has  not  even  that — not  so  much  as  an 
altar  to  the  Unknown  God.  What,  then,  does  it  wor- 
ship ? 

The  Universal  Mind. — When  Siddartha  sat  meditat- 
ing under  the  sacred  bo  tree  the  thought  which  came 
to  him,  upHfting,  illuminating,  deifying,  making  him 
Buddha,  was  this :  "  The  only  real  and  substantial 
thing  in  the  universe  is  Intellect  ;  there  is  one  great, 
all-embracing  Intelligence  of  which  the  essential  and 
constituent  parts  are  the  minds  of  men ;  of  this  Buddh 
I  know  nothing,  but  I  may  form  a  definite  conception 
of  that  within  me  which  corresponds  to  the  aggregate 
or  universal  mind ;  this,  therefore,  will  I  worship — 
Mind,  Intellect,  the  Buddha,  my  self-conscious  self."  ^ 

In  this  conception  of  deity  there  seems  to  be  a  faint 
glimmer  of  the  truth  that  was  uttered  by  St.  John : 
"  In  him  was  life,  and  the  life  was  the  light  of  men ; 
and  the  Light  shineth  in  darkness,  and  the  darkness 
comprehended  it  not."  Let  the  thought  of  Buddha  be 
spiritualized,  and  we  shall  behold  in  it  the  Wisdom 
of  Ecclesiastes ;  nay,  even  a  suggestion  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.     Still,  pausing  where  he  did,  a  gulf  infinite 

^  "  The  word  Buddha,  it  seems  to  be  admitted  on  all  hands,  means 
Intelligence.  That  men  ought  to  worship  pure  Intelligence  must  have 
been  the  first  proclamation  of  the  original  Buddhists." — Maurice. 


138  THE  RELIGIONS  OF  THE    WORLD. 

and  bridgeless  lay  between  his  feet  and  the  enlight- 
ening truth. 

He  was  a  rationalist,  his  last  appeal  being  to  the 
human  intellect.  He  was  a  pantheist,  holding  that 
the  universal  mind  is  everything  and  all.  He  was  an 
atheist,  practically,  holding  that  aside  from  the  im- 
personal Adi-Buddha  there  is  no  God.^ 

Idols. — It  is  easy  to  perceive  how  this  religion,  be- 
ginning as  a  protest  against  the  idolatrous  rites  and 
ceremonies  of  Brahmanism,  would  itself  in  time  surely 
develop  into  idolatry.  No  sooner  had  Buddha  died 
than  a  great  image  was  built  to  his  memory ;  wonder- 
ful tales  were  told  concerning  him ;  ere  long  his  name 
was  invested  with  superstitious  awe.  The  Buddha 
now  was  God :  his  image,  designed  to  represent  the 
apotheosis  of  Intellect,  in  the  popular  eyes  was  simply 
a  deified  man.  But  why,  if  Siddartha  became  Buddha, 
might  not  any  other  heroic  and  virtuous  man  do  like- 
wise ?  Thus  buddhas  were  multiplied  and  hero-wor- 
ship began.  All  great  men  had  their  devotees,  and 
the  craft  of  the  image-maker  was  most  prosperous. 
The  Buddhist  temples  are  pantheons.^     There  is  one 

1  "  What  are  we  to  say  of  a  doctrine  which  is  sometimes  represented 
as  one  of  almost  perfect  theism  ;  sometimes  as  direct  atheism  ;  some- 
times as  having  the  closest  analogy  to  what  in  a  Greek  philosopher  or 
in  a  modem  philosopher  would  be  called  pantheism  ;  sometimes  as  the 
worship  of  human  saints  or  heroes  ;  sometimes  as  altogether  symboli- 
cal ;  sometimes  as  full  of  the  highest  abstract  speculations ;  sometimes 
as  vulgar  idolatiy  ?  Strange  as  it  may  seem,  the  same  doctrine  is,  I  be- 
lieve, capable  of  assuming  all  these  different  phases;  no  one  of  them 
can  be  thoroughly  understood  without  reference  to  the  other." — F.  D. 
Maurice,  in  Religions  of  the  World,  p.  74. 

'  "  As  Buddhism  does  not  recognize  the  idea  of  God,  it  has  properly 


BUDDHISM.  139 

at  Canton  where  five  hundred  canonized  saints  sit  "  in 
a  long  impressive  row."     There  is  another  at  Ayuthia 

no  worship  or  sacrifices,  and  originally  no  religious  ceremonies ;  but  as 
it  spread  a  cultus  arose.  The  image  and  relics  of  Buddha  himself  and 
the  other  holy  personages  of  the  legends  were  worshiped,  and  the  cere- 
monies consisted  of  offerings  of  flowers  and  perfumes,  with  music  and 
the  recital  of  hymns  and  prayers.  Foimulas  of  prayer  have  also  come 
into  use,  although  the  idea  of  a  Being  who  answers  prayers  is  utterly 
foreign  to  the  system.  The  prayers  are  supposed  to  produce  their  effect 
by  a  kind  of  magical  efficacy.  Hence  the  praying-machines  of  Tibet 
and  Mongolia  are  logical  consequences.  The  religious  communities 
assemble  for  prayer  three  times  a  day — i.  e.  morning,  noon  and  even- 
ing. They  publicly  confess  their  sins  on  the  days  of  the  new  and  full 
moon,  and  the  laity  also  attend  for  confession  and  to  listen  to  the  read- 
ing of  some  sacred  text." — Rev.  S.  M.  Jackson,  Schajf-Herzog  Ency- 
clopedia, article  "  Buddhism." 

>/'*  As  the  pilgrim  in  the  story  who  was  ordered,  as  a  penance,  to  walk 
a  long  distance  with  peas  in  his  shoes,  took  the  liberty  of  easing  his 
task  by  first  boiling  his  peas,  so  the  Buddhists  have  invented  their 
famous  contrivance  of  prayer-mills  by  which  to  obtain  the  merit  of 
prayer  without  the  trouble  of  praying.  Father  Hue  saw  many  of  these 
mills.  They  have  a  revolving  wheel  on  which  are  pasted  numerous 
prayers.  Every  time  it  is  turned  it  is  considered  that  as  much  merit  is  ' 
acquired  as  if  all  the  prayers  had  been  said  aloud.  Sometimes  these 
wheels  are  put  up  by  the  side  of  the  road,  so  that  a  traveler  may  acquire 
merit  by  giving  them  a  twirl  as  he  passes.  A  still  more  ingenious  con- 
trivance is  to  fill  a  barrel  full  of  written  prayers — say  one  thousand — 
and  then  arrange  it  by  the  side  of  a  brook,  so  that  the  water  shall  turn 
it  continually,  night  and  day.  In  this  way  they  can  easily  acquire  the 
merit  of  having  said  several  millions  of  prayers  every  day." — Clarke's 
Events  and  Epochs  in  Religious  History,  p,  56. 

"  There  is  no  place  in  the  Buddhist  scheme  for  churches ;  the  offering 
of  flowers  before  the  sacred  tree  or  image  of  the  Buddha  takes  the  place 
of  worship.  Buddhism  does  not  acknowledge  the  efficacy  of  prayers, 
and  in  the  warm  countries  where  Buddhists  live  the  occasional  reading 
of  the  law  or  preaching  of  the  word  in  public  can  take  place  best  in 
the  open  air,  by  moonlight,  under  a  simple  roof  of  trees  or  palms." — 
Buddhism,  p.  168. 

"  This  period  (the  rainy  season),  called  ivas  (from  the  Sanskrit  varska^ 


I40  THE  RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

which  has  no  less  than  fourteen  thousand  gods,  begin- 
ning with  a  colossal  image  of  the  original  Buddha. 
These  were  all  designed  to  represent  the  adorableness 
of  Intellect,  but  to  the  masses  of  the  people  they  are 
simply  gods.  All  day  long  their  temples  smoke  with 
incense,  and  the  dull  dreamy  eyes  of  the  buddhas  look 
down  upon  a  prostrate  throng  of  votaries.  Thus  there 
is  a  twofold  aspect  of  this  religion  :  To  the  enlightened 
few  it  is  rationalism  pure  and  simple,  while  to  the  mul- 

rain),  is  in  Ceylon  the  finest  part  of  the  year;  and  as  there  are  no  reg- 
ular religious  services  at  any  other  time,  the  peasantry  celebrate  the 
reading  of  Bana  (or  the  Word)  at  z£/fl;Mime,  as  their  great  religious 
festival.  They  put  up  under  the  palm  trees  a  platform,  roofed,  but  quite 
open  at  the  sides,  and  ornamented  with  bright  cloths  and  flowers,  and. 
round  it  they  sit  in  the  moonlight  on  the  ground,  and  listen  through  the 
night  with  great  .satisfaction,  if  not  with  great  intelligence,  to  the  sacred 
words  repeated  by  relays  of  shaven  monks.  The  greatest  favorite  at 
these  readings  of  Bana  is  the  '  Jataka '  book,  which  contains  so  many 
of  the  old  fables  and  stories  so  common  to  the  Aryan  peoples,  sanctified 
now  and  preserved  by  the  leading  hero  in  each,  whether  man  or  fairy 
or  animal,  being  looked  upon  as  an  incarnation  of  the  Buddha  in  one 
of  his  previous  births.  To  these  wonderful  stories  the  simple  peasantry, 
dressed  in  their  best  and  brightest,  listen  all  the  night  long  with  un- 
affected delight,  chatting  pleasantly  now  and  again  with  their  neighbors, 
and  indulging  all  the  while  in  the  mild  narcotic  of  the  betel-leaf,  their 
stores  of  which  (and  of  its  never-failing  adjuncts,  chunam — that  is,  white 
lime — and  the  areka-nut)  afford  a  constant  occasion  for  acts  of  polite  good- 
fellowship.  The  first  spirit  of  Buddhism  may  have  passed  away  as  com- 
pletely as  the  old  reason  for  was ;  neither  hearers  nor  preachers  may 
have  that  deep  sense  of  evil  in  the  world  and  in  themselves,  nor  that 
high  resolve  to  battle  with  and  overcome  it,  which  animated  some  of 
the  early  Buddhists,  and  they  all  think  themselves  to  be  earning  '  merit' 
by  their  easy  service ;  but  there  is  at  least  at  these  festivals  a  genuine 
feeling  of  human  kindness,  in  harmony  alike  with  the  teachings  of 
Gautama  and  with  the  gentle  beauty  of  those  moonlight  scenes." — 
BuddkisJH,  p.  57. 


BUDDHISM.  141 

titude  it  is  the  worship  of  many  gods.  As  to  any  great 
overruling  Power,  with  a  heart  to  pity  and  arms  to  help 
the  miseries  of  despairing  men,  there  is  none.  Buddhism 
in  searching  for  a  god  nearer  than  Brahm  has  wrecked 
itself  upon  Charybdis.  It  is  absolutely  "  without  God 
in  the  world." 

(2)  Karma. — The  second  of  the  distinguishing  fea- 
tures of  Buddhism  is  Karma  :  that  is,  the  Law  of  Con- 
sequences. Buddha  said  :  "  Karma  is  the  most  essen- 
tial property  of  rational  beings ;  it  is  like  the  shadow 
which  accompanies  the  body."  By  this  law  of  retribu- 
tion the  soul  (or  rather  Intellect,  for  the  Buddhist  has 
no  soul)  is  made  to  answer  for  every  unjust  act.  As  a 
man  soweth,  so  also  shall  he  reap : 

V 

^  "  The  mills  grind  slow, 
But  they  grind  woe." 

There  is  no  pardon,  no  escaping  the  doom.  It  is  an 
automatic  law,  administering  itself — eye  for  eye,  tooth 
for  tooth,  burning  for  burning.  It  follows  us  after  death 
through  our  various  transmigrations,  meting  out  with 
just  scales  its  exact  recompenses.  The  religion  of 
Buddha  has  a  thousand  hells,  and  every  one  of  them 
is  more  terrible  than  any  in  the  Inferno  of  Dante.  It 
uses  abundantly  the  motive  of  fear. 

"  Bite  not  the  hook  beneath  the  silvered  bait  hid  well ; 

The  man  who  walked  o'er  treachery's  road  to  Paradise, 
"When  at  the  journey's  end  found  he  was  snug  in  hell." 

And  what  is  the  influence  of  this  Karma  on  the 
morality  of  the  people  ?     Fear  never  yet  lifted  a  man 


142      THE  RELIGIONS  OF   THE    WORLD. 

to  the  highest  plane  of  Hfe.  It  feeds  our  worst  pas- 
sions— pride,  hypocrisy  and  selfishness.  A  religion 
which  overshadows  all  the  acts  and  interests  of  daily 
life  with  a  dread  of  what  may  follow  in  the  dark  laby- 
rinths of  transmigration  may  make  slaves,  but  never 
sons  of  God. 

The  Moral  Code. — The  moral  code  of  Buddhism  is 
wellnigh  perfect.  "  It  is  the  singular  merit  of  this 
religion,  whatever  view  we  take  of  the  ultimate  end 
to  which  it  pointed  as  constituting  the  salvation  of 
man,  that  the  way  by  which  it  taught  men  to  reach 
that  end  was  simply  that  of  inward  purification  and 
moral  goodness.  Outside  of  Christianity  no  religion 
which  the  world  has  ever  seen  has  so  sharply  accen- 
tuated morality  and  duty  as  •  entering  into  the  very 
essence  of  religion  or  as  inseparably  connected  with 
it."  ^  When  the  great  teacher  standing  in  the  light 
of  a  jungle-fire  on  the  opposite  hillside  lifted  his  voice 
against  the  fires  of  anger,  ignorance  and  concupiscence, 
and  against  the  multitude  of  evils,  led  by  priestcraft, 
with  which  Brahmanism,  as  a  flood,  had  covered  the 
land,^  he  gave  the  keynote  of  the  ethical  system  which 

*  Dr.  Caird. 

2  ♦*  The  new  disciples  who  had  been  worshipers  of  Agni,  the  sacred 
fire,  were  seated  with  Gautama  on  the  Elephant  Rock,  near  Gaya,  with 
the  beautiful  valley  of  Rajagriha  stretched  out  before  them,  when  a  fire 
broke  out  in  a  jungle  on  the  opposite  hill.  Taking  the  fire  as  his  text, 
the  teacher  declared  that  so  long  as  men  remained  in  ignorance  they 
were,  as  it  were,  consumed  by  a  fire — by  the  excitement  produced 
within  them  by  the  action  of  external  things.  These  things  acted  upon 
them  through  the  five  senses  and  the  heart  (which  Gautama  regarded 
as  a  sixth  organ  of  sense).  The  eye,  for  instance,  perceives  objects; 
from  this  perception  arises  an  inward  sensation  producing  pleasure  or 


BUDDHISM.  143 

is  contained  in  the  Tripitakas.  "  It  is  difficult,"  said 
Laboulaye  in  the  French  Academy,  "  to  comprehend 
how  men  not  assisted  by  revelation  could  have  soared 
so  high  and  approached  so  near  the  truth."  Knighton 
also  says :  "  In  Buddhism  we  have  a  code  of  morality 
and  a  list  of  precepts  which  for  pureness,  excellence 
and  wisdom  are  only  second  to  that  of  the  divine 
Lawgiver  himself"  Its  five  great  commandments 
are  not  to  kill,  not  to  steal,  not  to  commit  adultery, 
not  to  lie,  not  to  use  intoxicating  drink.  It  forbids 
also  pri^e,  anger,  greediness,  gossiping  and  every 
kind  of  vice.  It  enjoins  reverence  for  parents,  kind- 
ness toward  the  poor,  meekness,  rendering  good  for 
evil,  and,  above  all,  charity,  which  is  the  crown  of 
virtues. 

The  Biief  Formula. — There  is  a  celebrated  formu- 
la, called  Patimakka,  which  is  supposed  to  embrace 
the  sum  and  substance  of  the  moral  code,  as  fol- 
lows : 

pain.  Sensations  produce  this  misery  and  joy,  because  they  supply 
fuel,  as  it  were,  to  the  inward  fires,  concupiscence,  anger  and  ignorance, 
and  the  anxieties  of  birth,  decay  and  death.  The  same  was  declared 
to  be  the  case  with  the  sensations  produced  by  each  of  the  other  senses. 
But  those  who  follow  the  Buddha's  scheme  of  inward  self-control — the 
four  stages  of  the  path  whose  gate  is  purity  and  whose  goal  is  love — 
have  become  wise;  the  sensations  from  without  no  longer  give  fuel  to 
the  inward  fire,  since  the  fires  of  concupiscence,  etc  have  ceased  to 
burn ;  true  disciples  are  thus  free  from  that  craving  thirst  which  is  the 
origin  of  evil;  the  wisdom  they  have  acquired  will  lead  them  on,  sooner 
or  later,  to  perfection ;  they  are  delivered  from  the  miseries  which 
would  result  from  another  birth ;  and  even  in  this  birth  they  no  longer 
need  the  guidance  of  such  laws  as  those  of  caste  and  ceremonies  and 
sacrifice,  for  they  have  already  reached  far  beyond  them." — Buddhism, 

P-  59- 


144  1^^^  RELIGIONS  OF  THE    WORLD. 

"  To  cease  from  sin ; 
To  get  virtue  ; 
To  cleanse  one's  heart, — 
This  is  the  Buddhist  Law." 

TJie  Beatitudes. — An  elaboration  of  this  formula  is 
found  in  the  beatitudes  of  Gautama,  which  are  thus 
given : 

"  Not  to  serve  the  foolish, 
But  to  serve  the  wise ; 
And  to  honor  the  honorable, — 
This  is  the  greatest  blessing. 

"  To  enjoy,  in  a  pleasant  land, 
Good  works  done  in  a  former  life, 
"With  right  desires  in  the  heart, — 
This  is  the  greatest  blessing. 

"  Deep  insight  and  education, 
Self-control  and  pleasant  speech. 
And  words  thoughtfully  spoken, — 
This  is  the  greatest  blessing. 

"  To  support  father  and  mother; 
To  cherish  wife  and  child; 
To  follow  a  peaceful  calling, — 
This  is  the  greatest  blessing. 

"  To  bestow  alms  and  live  righteously; 
To  give  help  to  one's  kindred; 
To  perform  blameless  deeds, — 
This  is  the  greatest  blessing. 

•*  To  abhor  and  cease  from  sin ; 
To  abstain  from  strong  drink ; 
Not  to  be  weary  in  well-doing, — 
This  is  the  greatest  blessing. 

"  Reverence  and  lowliness, 
Contentment  and  gratitude. 
Hearing  the  I^aw  at  due  seasons,— 
This  is  the  greatest  blessing. 


BUDDHISM.  145 

•'  To  be  long-suffering  and  meek ; 
To  associate  with  the  pious ; 
To  speak  of  religion  at  due  seasons, — 
This  is  the  greatest  blessing. 

"  Self-restraint  and  purity, 
The  knowledge  of  the  Noble  Truths, 
The  realization  of  Nirvana, — 

This  is  the  greatest  blessing.  \/ 

"  Beneath  the  stroke  of  life's  vicissitudes 
To  keep  the  mind  unshaken, 
Without  grief  or  passion,  and  secure, — 
This  is  the  greatest  blessing. 

*'  On  every  side  they  are  invincible 
Who  perform  such  acts  as  these ; 
On  every  side  they  walk  in  safety. 

And  theirs  is  the  greatest  blessing."  ^ 

^  The  Ten  Conimandtnents  of  the  Buddhist  religion  consist  of  the  five 
prohibitions  against — (i)  killing,  (2)  stealing,  (3)  adultery,  (4)  false- 
hood, and  ( 5)  drunkenness ;  together  with  five  others  less  binding — 
namely,  against  (6)  eating  at  improper  times,  (7)  wearing  garlands  and 
using  perfumes,  (8)  sleeping  on  an  easy  bed,  (9)  singing,  dancing  and 
the  drama,  and  (10)  gold  and  silver. 

The  Ten  Sins  are  as  follows:  Three  of  the  body:  (1)  murder,  (2) 
theft,  and  (3)  uncleanness;  four  of  speech:  (4)  falsehood,  (5)  gossip, 
(6)  swearing,  (7)  vain  conversation;  and  three  of  the  mind:  (8)  covet- 
ousness,  (9)  malice,  (10)  unbelief. 

The  Duties  of  Men  are  classified  under  six  relations,  as  follows: 

I.  The  Relation  of  Parent  and  Child. — (I.)  Parents  should  (i)  re- 
strain their  children  from  vice,  (2)  train  them  in  virtue,  (3)  teach  them 
the  arts  and  sciences,  (4)  provide  them  with  good  wives  or  husbands, 
and  (5)  leave  them  an  inheritance.  (II-)  Children  should  (i)  support 
their  parents  in  old  age,  (2)  perform  all  filial  duties,  (3)  guard  the 
family  possessions,  (4)  study  to  be  worthy  of  the  inheritance,  and  (5) 
honor  their  parents'  memory. 

II.  Pupil  and  Teacher. — (I.)  Pupils  should  honor  their  teachers  (i) 
by  rising  in  their  presence,  (2)  by  ministering  to  them,  (3)  by  obeying 
them,  (4)  by  supplying  their  wants,  (5)  by  heeding  their  instructions. 
(II.)  Teachers  should  show  their  affection  for  their  pupils  (i)  by  train- 

10 


146  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

TJic  Morality  of  the  Buddhists. — But  the  moral  code 
of  the  sacred  books  must  not  be  taken  as  a  true  index 
of  the  morahty  of  the  people.  Little  enough  do  they 
know  of  the  Tripitaka ;  still  less  do  they  regulate  their 
lives  by  the  maxims  written  therein.  If  we  would 
know  the  practical  results  of  the  doctrine  of  Karma, 

ing  them  in  the  right  way,  (2)  by  teaching  them  to  hold  fast  what  they 
learn,  (3)  by  instructing  them  in  the  wisdom  of  the  ancients,  (4)  by 
speaking  well  of  them,  and  (5)  by  protecting  them  from  danger. 

III.  Husband  and  Wife. — (I.)  Husbands  should  (i)  treat  their  wives 
with  respect,  (2)  be  kind  to  them,  (3)  be  faithful  to  them,  (4)  defend 
their  reputation,  and  (5)  provide  them  suitable  clothes  and  ornaments. 
(II.)  Wives  should  show  their  love  toward  their  husbands  (l)  by  prop- 
erly training  their  children,  (2)  by  suitably  entertaining  guests,  (3)  by 
preserving  their  chastity,  (4)  by  being  good  housekeepers,  and  (5)  by 
showing  skill  and  industry  in  all  things. 

IV.  Friend  and  Friend. — (I.)  An  honorable  man  will  minister  to 
his  friends  (i)  by  giving  them  presents,  (2)  by  addressing  them  respect- 
fully, (3)  by  promoting  their  interests,  (4)  by  treating  them  as  his  equals, 
and  (5)  by  giving  them  a  share  of  his  prosperity.  (II.)  His  friends 
should  reciprocate  (i)  by  watching  over  him  when  unguarded,  (2)  by 
protecting  his  property  when  he  neglects  it,  (3)  by  affording  him  a 
refuge  in  danger,  (4)  by  proving  faithful  to  him  in  adversity,  and  (5) 
by  befriending  his  loved  ones. 

V.  Master  and  Servant. — (I.)  The  master  should  (i)  apportion  the 
task  according  to  his  servant's  strength,  (2)  pay  him  properly,  {3)  care 
for  him  in  sickness,  (4)  sometimes  give  him  delicacies,  and  (5)  grant 
him  a  holiday  on  occasion.  (H-)  The  servant  must  (i)  rise  up  before 
his  master,  (2)  retire  later  to  rest,  (3)  be  content  with  what  he  receives 
from  him,  (4)  do  his  work  cheerfully  and  well,  and  (5)  always  speak 
well  of  him. 

VI.  Priest  and  Layman. — (I.)  The  priest  should  (i)  dissuade  the 
layman  from  vice,  (2)  exhort  him  to  virtue,  (3)  entertain  a  sincere  re- 
gard for  him,  (4)  instruct  him  in  religion,  (5)  clear  up  his  doubts,  and 
(6)  point  him  to  heaven.  (II.)  The  layman  must  minister  to  his  re- 
ligious superior  (i)  by  affectionate  deeds,  (2)  by  affectionate  words,  (3) 
by  affectionate  thoughts,  (4)  by  a  hearty  welcome,  and  (5)  by  generously 
supplying  all  his  temporal  wants. 


xJ 


BUDDHISM.  147 

we  must  close  the  sacred  books  of  Buddhism  and 
enter  its  chambers  of  imagery — see  woman  degraded 
and  crushed,  held  as  an  inferior  being,  her  womanhood 
regarded  as  the  penalty  of  sins  committed  in  a  pre- 
existent  state,  her  only  hope  the  possibility  of  being 
one  day  delivered  from  the  curse  by  being  born  a 
man ;  or  go  out  upon  the  highways  and  question 
the  multitude  of  pilgrims  who  drag  their  slow  length 
toward  the  sacred  rivers.  They  have  no  more  con- 
ception of  true  virtue,  seemingly,  than  the  irrational 
things  that  crawl  beside  them.  They  are  driven  on  by 
Karma  as  by  a  whip  of  scorpions.  Or  "  visit  the  cities 
of  the  dead,  as  at  Canton,  where  tens  of  thousands  lie 
unburied,  waiting  for  a  lucky  day.  Listen  to  the  mid- 
night din  of  the  superstitious  masses  who  are  ringing 
gongs  and  discharging  fireworks  to  keep  away  the  evil 
spirits.  Watch  the  incantations  over  the  sick,  and 
honors  paid  to  dead  beggars  to  propitiate  their  ghosts, 
and  the  pampering  of  monkeys  and  doves  and  sacred 
pigs  as  a  work  of  merit,  while  men  and  women  die  of 
starvation  in  the  streets."  This  is  Buddhism — not  as 
it  is  in  the  Tripitaka,  but  as  it  appears  in  common  life. 
In  spite  of  its  theoretical  cleanness,  it  is  practically  vile. 
Says  the  Abbe  Hue :  "  The  leprosy  of  vice  has  spread 
so  completely  through  this* skeptical  society  that  the 
garment  of  modesty  with  which  it  covers  itself  is  con- 
tinually falling  off  and  exposing  hideous  wounds  which 
are  eating  away  the  vitals  of  this  unbelieving  people."  ^ 

^  "  It  is  a  melancholy  fact  that,  in  China,  Buddhism  has  led  the  entire 
nation  not  only  into  indifferentism,  but  into  absolute  godlessness.  They 
have  come  to  regard  religion  as  merely  a  fashion,  to  be  followed  accord' 


148  THE  RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

III.  Nh'vana. — The  third  distinguishing  feature  of 
Buddhism  is  Nirvana.  This  is  the  name  of  the  Buddh- 
ist's only  heaven.  It  is  defined  in  glowing  terms  as 
*'  the  happy  seat, — the  excellent,  eternal  place ;  the 
other  side  of  the  ocean  of  existence;  the  harbor  of 
never-ending  rest, — the  transcendental  formless  state, 
the  truth,  the  infinite,  the  unspeakable."  But  under 
all  these  euphemisms  lies  the  cold  undoubted  fact  that 
Nh'vana  means  total  annihilation.  This  is  the  Buddh- 
ist's supreme  wish. 

ing  to  one's  own  taste ;  that  as  professed  by  the  state  it  Is  a  civil  institu- 
tion, necessary  for  the  holding  of  office  and  demanded  by  society,  but 
not  to  be  regarded  as  of  the  smallest  philosophical  importance;  that  a 
man  is  entitled  to  indulge  his  views  on  these  matters  just  as  he  is  en- 
titled to  indulge  his  taste  in  the  color  and  fashion  of  his  garments;  that 
he  has  no  more  right,  however,  to  live  without  some  religious  profession 
than  he  has  a  right  to  go  naked.  The  Chinese  cannot  comprehend  how 
there  should  be  animosities  arising  on  matters  of  such  doubtful  nature 
and  trivial  concern.  The  formula  under  which  they  live  is  :  '  Religions 
are  many,  reason  is  one ;  we  are  brothers.'  They  smile  at  the  credulity 
of  the  good-natured  Tartars,  who  believe  in  the  wonders  of  miracle- 
workers,  for  they  have  miracle-workers  who  can  perform  the  most 
supernatural  cures,  who  can  lick  red-hot  iron,  who  can  cut  open  their 
bowels,  and,  by  passing  their  hand  over  the  wound,  make  themselves 
whole  again, — who  can  raise  the  dead.  In  China,  these  miracles,  with 
all  their  authentications,  have  descended  to  the  conjurer  and  are  per- 
formed for  the  amusement  of  children.  The  common  expressions  of 
that  country  betray  the  materialism  and  indifferentism  of  the  people, 
and  their  consequent  immorality .^Cj  The  prisons,'  they  say,  *  are  locked 
night  and  day,  but  they  are  always  full ;  the  temples  are  always  open, 
and  yet  there  is  nobody  in  them.'  Of  the  dead  they  say,  with  an  ex- 
quisite refinement  of  euphemism,  *  He  has  saluted  the  world.'  The 
Lazarist  Hue,  on  whose  authority  many  of  these  statements  are  made, 
testifies  that  they  die,  indeed,  with  incomparable  tranquillity,  just  as 
animals  die ;  and  adds,  with  a  bitter,  and  yet  profoundly  true,  sarcasm, 
'they  are  what  many  in  Europe  are  wanting  to  be.'  " — Draper's  Intel' 
lectual  Development  of  Europe^  i.  74. 


BUDDHISM.  149 


"  Count  o'er  the  joys  thine  hours  have  seen, 
Count  o'er  thy  days  from  anguish  free, 
And  know,  whatever  thou  hast  been, 
'Tis  someihing  better — not  to  be."  ^ 


a 


(/The  Japanese  followers  of  Buddha  have  this  proverb  : 
*^he  worst  thing  you  can  wish  a  man  is  that  he  may 
live  again."  There  is,  indeed,  no  acknowledgment  of 
the  existence  of  the  soul  as  a  thing  distinct  from  the 
parts  and  properties  which  dissolve  at  death.^     "  Our 

^  Contrast  with  this  the  Christian  sentiment : 
"  Whatever  crazy  sorrow  saith, 
No  life  that  breathes  with  human  breath 
Has  eyer  truly  longed  for  death. 
'Tis  life,  whereof  our  nerves  are  scant. 
Oh  life,  not  death,  for  which  we  pant; 
More  life,  and  fuller,  that  we  want."- 

-^  2  li  Man  consists  of  an  assemblage  of  different  properties  or  qualities, 
none  of  which  corresponds  to  the  Hindu  or  modern  notion  of  the  soul. 
These  are  material  qualities,  sensations,  abstract  ideas,  tendencies  of 
mind  and  mental  powers ;  and  as  the  point  is  a%natter  of  great  import- 
ance for  a  right  appreciation  of  Buddhist  teaching,  and  the  enumera- 
tion is  not  without  interest  for  its  own  sake,  a  few  words  may  be  de- 
voted to  the  details  of  each  of  these  Skandhas  or  Aggregates  : 

**  [i.]  The  Material  Properties   or   Attributes   are   twenty-eight   in 
number : 

Four  elements — earth,  water,  fire,  air. 

Five  organs  of  sense — eye,  ear,  nose,  tongue,  body. 

Five  attributes  of  matter — form,  sound,  smell,  taste,  substance. 

Two  distinctions  of  sex — male,  female. 

Three  essential  conditions — thought,  vitality,  space. 

Two  means  of  communication — gesture,  speech. 

Seven  qualities  of  living  bodies — buoyancy,  elasticity,  power  of 

adaptation,  power  of  aggregation,  duration,  decay,  change. 

"  [2.]   The  Sensations  are  divided  into  six  classes,  according  as  they 

are  received  immediately  by  each  of  the  five  senses,  or,  sixthly,  by  the 

mind  (through  memory) ;  and  further,  into  eighteen  classes,  as  each  of 

these  six  classes  may  be  either  agreeable,  disagreeable  or  indifferent. 


150  THE  RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

life,  to  use  a  constantly  recurring  Buddhist  simile  or 
parable,  is  like  the  flame  of  an  Indian  lamp,  a  metal 

"  [3-]  Th^  Abstract  Ideas  are  divided  into  six  classes  of  sensations; 
for  instance,  the  ideas  blue,  a  tree,  are  classed  under  sight;  the  idea 
sweetness  under  taste,  and  so  on. 

"  [4,]  The  Tendencies  or  Potentialities  (literally  confections)  are  in 
fifty-two  divisions,  which  are  not,  however,  mutually  exclusive.  Some 
of  these  include,  or  are  identical  with,  items  in  the  previous  classes; 
but  whereas  the  previous  groups  are  arranged  as  it  were  from  an  object- 
ive, this  group  is  ananged  as  it  were  from  a  subjective,  point  of  view: 

1.  Contact. 

2.  The  resulting  sensation. 

3.  Abstract  ideas,  formed  on  sensation. 

4.  Thought,  the  regrouping  of  ideas. 

5.  Reflection,  turning  these  groups  over  and  over. 

6.  Memory. 

7.  Vitality. 

8.  Individuality. 

9.  Attention. 

10.  Investigation. 

11.  Effort. 

12.  Steadfastness. 

13-  Joy- 

14.  Impulse. 

15.  Indifference. 

16,  17.  Sleep  and  torpor. 

18,  19.  Stupidity  and  intelligence. 

20,  21.  Covetousness  and  content. 

22,  23.  Fear  and  rashness. 

24,  25.  Shame  and  shamelessness. 

26,  27.   Hatred  and  affection. 

28-30.  Doubt,  faith  and  delusion. 

31,  32.  Repose  of  body  or  mind. 

2f}i,  34.  Lightness,  activity,  of  body  or  mind. 

35,  36.   Softness,  elasticity,  of  body  or  mind. 

37,  38.  Adaptability,  pliancy,  of  body  or  mind. 

39,  40.  Dexterity,  of  body  or  mind. 

41,42.  Straightness,  of  body  or  mind. 

43-45.   Propriety,  of  speech,  action  or  life. 


BUDDHISM,  151 

or  earthenware  saucer  in  which  a  cotton  wick  is  laid 
in  oil.  One  life  is  derived  from  another,  as  one  flame 
is  lit  at  another ;  it  is  not  the  same  flame,  but  without 
the  other  it  would  not  have  been."  In  other  words, 
there  is  continuity,  but  no  identity.^    Thus  the  Buddhists 

46.  Pity,  sorrow  for  the  sorrow  of  others. 

47.  Gladness,  rejoicing  in  the  joy  of  others. 

48.  Envy,  soiTow  at  the  joys  of  others. 

49.  Selfishness,  dislike  to  share  one's  joys  with  others. 

50.  Moroseness. 

51.  Vanity. 

52.  Pride. 

"  [5.]  Thought,  reason,  is  the  last  Skandha,  and  is  really  an  amplifi- 
cation from  another  point  of  view  of  the  fourth  of  the  last  group,  which 
is  inherent  in  all  the  others.  It  is  divided  from  the  point  of  view  of 
the  merit  or  demerit  resulting  from  different  thoughts  into  eighty-nine 
classes — a  division  which  throws  no  light  on  the  Buddhist  scheme  of 
the  constituent  elements  of  being,  and  does  not,  therefore,  concern  us 
here." — Buddhism,  p.  90,  abbreviated. 

^  An  apt  illustration  of  this  continuity  without  identity  is  given  by 
Maurice,  as  follows :  "  In  Tibet,  which  must  be  regarded  as  the  centre 
and  proper  home  of  the  religion,  the  priests  are  called  lamas ;  it  is  they 
who  decide  who  the  Lama,  the  true  high  priest  of  the  universe  at  any 
given  time,  is.  I  say  they  decide  who  he  is,  for  they  could  never  allow 
that  the  faculty  of  choosing  the  chief  Lama  resides  in  them.  In  some 
person  or  other  the  spirit  of  Buddha  dwells  ;  he  is  meant  to  be  the 
head  of  the  universe ;  to  him  all  owe  homage.  This  Lama,  therefore, 
never  dies ;  he  is  lost  sight  of  in  one  form,  reappears  in  another.  The 
body  of  some  old  man  who  has  had  this  honor  loses  its  breath,  is  laid 
in  the  tomb.  The  Lama  has  passed  into  some  infant,  who  is  brought 
up  in  a  convent  with  special  care,  preserved  from  sensual  influences, 
taught  from  the  cradle  to  look  upon  himself  as  the  shrine  of  the  divinity, 
and  to  receive  the  homage  of  rajahs,  nations,  even  of  the  Celestial  Em- 
pire; nay,  even  of  European  monarchs.  Some  of  you  may  remember 
to  have  read  of  a  solemn  embassy  sent  by  the  English  government  at 
Calcutta,  in  the  days  of  Warren  Hastings,  to  the  court  of  the  Lama. 
A  very  affecting  letter  had  been  addressed  by  him  to  the  English  au- 
thorities in  India,  asking  their  help  in  checking  quarrels  between  car- 


152  THE  RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

speak  of  "  the  heresy  of  individuality ;"  and  Buddha 
himself  pronounced  it  heresy  to  speak  of  the  eternity 
of  the  soul.  It  is  obvious,  therefore,  that  Nhuaiia 
means  merely  extinction  or  annihilation.  This,  indeed, 
is  the  necessary  sequence  of  the  philosophy  of  Buddha. 
He  said  :  *'  There  is  nothing  in  life  but  sorrow ;  all  is 
perishable ;  all  is  void ;  to  be  is  pain ;  not  to  be  is  ever- 
lasting rest."  The  most  desirable  of  all  things,  there- 
fore, is  non-existence — "  to  break  through  the  prison- 
walls,  not  of  life  only,  but  of  being."  To  this  end 
transmigration — that  is,  the  passage  of  life  through  an 
endless  cycle  of  existence,^  which  continues  so  long  as 
there  is  conscious  thirst  or  desire  of  any  kind — must 
be  prevented. 

''What  shall  I  Do  to  be  Saved T— How  shall  this 
transmigration  be  prevented  ?  By  the  killing  of  desire. 
The  intellect  must  conquer  the  heart;  feeling  must 
give  way  to  meditation.  The  senses  must  be  dulled. 
Nirvana  is  gained  by  the  victory  of  sublime  indiffer- 
ence to  everything  in  life. 

"  The  heart,  scrupulously  avoiding  all  idle  dissipation, 
Diligently  applying  itself  to  the  Holy  Law  of  Buddha, 

tain  native  sovereigns — an  object,  he  said,  w^hich  he  sought  diligently 
in  prayers  by  day  and  night.  An  old  man  vi^as  the  author  of  this  letter; 
before  Mr.  Turner,  the  English  envoy,  arrived  he  had  left  the  world, 
and  a  child  of  eighteen  months  was  acknowledged  as  his  successor.  It 
reigned  by  no  hereditary  right,  but  the  other  lamas  presented  him  with 
unquestioning  faith  as  the  representative  of  the  Perfect  Intelligence, 
through  whom  it  would  most  surely  utter  itself." 

%  J  "Transmigration  is  constantly  called  the  ocean:  its  ever-tossing 
waves  are  births;  the  foam  at  the  crest  of  the  waves  is  this  perish- 
able body;  the  other  shore  is  Nirvana;  having  reached  which,  one 
does  not  again  enter  the  great  ocean  of  Sag-sara.'" — Buddhism,  p.  136. 


BUDDHISM.  153 

Letting  go  all  lust  and  consequent  disappointment, 

Fixed  and  unchangeable,  enters  on  Nirvana^  ^ — Davids. 

Struggling  to  release  itself  from  all  passion,  life  jour- 
neys on  from  home  to  home,  from  one  mode  of  exist- 
ence to  another,  until  its  heart  is  numbed,  eyes  blinded, 
feeling  dead,  and  the  dreamer,  inhaling  the  perfume 
of  the  lotus-flower,  ere  the  dream  ceases  murmurs  his 
farewell : 

"  Thy  rafters  crushed,  thy  ridge-pole  too, 
Thy  work,  O  Builder,  now  is  o'er. 
My  spirit  feels  Nirvana  true. 

And  I  shall  transmigrate  no  more." 

Sadness. — Is  it  to  be  wondered  at  that  Buddhism  is 
a  religion  of  sadness  ?  that  "  a  night  of  hopelessness  " 
has  passed  over  all  the  peoples  who  profess  it  ?  ^ 

jQ,  "  He  whose  senses  have  become  tranquil,  like  a  horse  well  broken 
in  by  the  driver;  who  is  free  from  pride  and  the  lust  of  the  flesh  and 
the  lust  of  existence  and  the  defilement  of  ignorance, — him  even  the 
gods  envy.  Such  a  one,  whose  conduct  is  right,  remains  like  the  broad 
earth,  unvexed ;  like  the  pillar  of  the  city-gate,  unmoved ;  like  a  pel- 
lucid lake,  unruffled.  For  such  there  are  no  more  births.  Tranquil  is 
the  mind,  tranquil  are  the  words  and  deeds,  of  him  who  is  thus  tranquil- 
lized and  made  free  by  wisdom." — Buddhism,  pp.  no,  iii. 

'  "  A  lamentable  instance  of  the  failure  of  Buddhism  seems  to  be 
afforded  by  the  present  condition  of  Japan.  Travelers  picture  the 
Japanese  as  people  without  religion  and  without  hope.  A  current  and 
favorite  proverb  is  that  '  the  worst  thing  you  can  wish  a  man  is  to  live 
again,'  As  the  old  faith  has  died  out.  there  is  nothing  left  but  its  un- 
conscious effects  and  the  habits  taught  by  it  to  stem  the  tide  of  selfish- 
ness; and  the  people  seem  given  up,  say  very  candid  observers,  to 
*  licentiousness  and  untruthfulness,'  while  a  deep  shade  of  melancholy 
settles  over  all.  The  great  doctrine  of  Sakya-Muni,  that  the  *  end  of 
righteousness  is  rest,'  has  degenerated  into  the  dogma  that  the  *  end  of 
righteousness  is  nothingness,'  and  a  night  of  unbelief  and  hopeless- 
ness has  fallen  over  a  whole  race," — Brace's  Gesta  Christi,  p.  456. 


154  THE  RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

Selfishness. — It  must  be  obvious  to  the  most  careless 
observer  that  the  philosophy  of  Buddha  is  the  very 
consummation  of  selfishness.  "  Since  its  object,"  as 
Draper  says,  **  was  altogether  of  a  personal  kind,  the 
attainment  of  individual  happiness,  it  was  not  possible 
that  it  should  do  otherwise  than  engender  an  extreme 
selfishness.  It  enjoined  on  each  man  to  secure  his 
own  salvation  (or  deliverance),  no  matter  what  became 
of  all  others.  Of  what  concern  to  him  were  parents, 
wife,  children,  friends,  country,  so  long  as  he  attained 
Nirvana  ?"  The  very  benevolence  which  the  Buddhist 
boasts  is  nothing  more  than  a  means  toward  the  secur- 
ing of  an  utterly  selfish  end.  His  piety  is  pure  self- 
worship,  for  beyond  his  own  intellect  he  cannot  con- 
ceive of  God.^ 

^  "  This  grand  moral  system,"  says  Dr.  Eitel,  "  starting  with  the  idea 
of  the  entire  renunciation  of  self,  ends  in  that  downright  selfishness 
which  abhors  crime,  not  because  of  its  sinfulness,  but  because  it  is  a 
personal  injuiy ;  which  sees  no  moral  pollution  in  sin,  but  merely  a 
calamity  to  be  deprecated  or  a  misfortune  to  be  shunned." 

The  following,  to  the  same  point,  is  from  a  conversation  with  a 
Buddhist  priest  in  the  temple  at  Kioto  ( The  Century  magazine,  July, 
1886) : 

"  *  What  do  you  mean  by  wrong?"'  I  asked. 

"  '  That  which  is  not  for  the  best.' 

"  '  Well,  when  my  watch  goes  too  fast  or  too  slow,  I  say  it  is  wrong : 
does  it  commit  sin  ?' 

"  *  I  do  not  understand.' 

"  *  When  a  tiger  comes  into  the  village  and  eats  a  man,  it  is  not  for 
the  best,  is  it  ?' 

"'No.' 

" '  Does  the  tiger  do  right  or  wrong?' 

"  *  He  does  right  for  the  tiger  and  wrong  for  the  man.  It  is  best  foi 
the  tiger  to  eat  the  man — for  the  man  to  kill  the  tiger.' 

"  *  Is  it  wrong  for  one  man  to  kill  another  ?' 


BUDDHISM.  155 

No  Help  from  Above. — We  observe  a  most  striking 
difference  between  the  system  of  Buddha  and  that  of 
Jesus  Christ  in  this :  that,  while  the  former  bids  its 
votaries  work  out  alone  and  unaided  their  deliverance 
from  the  sorrows  of  life/  the  latter  says,  "  Work  out 

"  '  Yes.' 

"  *  And  to  lie  and  steal  ?' 

" '  Yes.' 

« *  Why  ?' 

" '  Because  it  destroys  the  harmony  of  the  social  relations.  You  must 
not  hurt  me,  for  then  I  would  want  to  hurt  you;  and  if  all  men  lived 
in  that  way,  there  could  be  no  peace.  You  must  not  lie  to  me,  for  then 
I  should  not  know  whether  to  do  one  thing  or  another,  for  I  could  not 
trust  you.' 

"  '  So,  then,  I  must  not  hurt  you,  for  fear  you  might  hurt  me?' 

" '  Yes.' 

"  '  Is  there  no  other  reason  ?' 

"  '  I  do  not  know  any.' 

"  '  Is  there  no  rule  of  right  which  kll  men  must  follow  ?' 

"  *  No ;  if  there  were  all  men  would  think  the  same  things  bad.  They 
do  not.  You  think  it  is  bad  to  have  more  than  one  wife ;  some  other 
nations  do  not.  They  think  it  is  bad  to  drink  anything  which  you 
drink.  There  can  be  no  rule,  but  each  nation  finds  out  what  is  best 
for  itself.' 

" '  We,  too,'  said  I,  *  think  that  things  may  be  expedient  for  one 
nation  which  are  not  so  for  another,  but  deeds  are  right  or  wrong  as 
they  conform  or  do  not  conform  to  a  rule,  which  is  the  will  of  our  God ; 
and  those  things  of  which  we  have  spoken — lying,  stealing,  murder  and 
such  like — we  agree  with  you  in  thinking  wrong  and  hurtful  to  society, 
and  we  have  commandments  forbidding  them.  This  we  call  our  duty 
to  man  ;  but  besides  that  is  there  no  other  duty  ?' 

"  '  I  do  not  understand.' 

" '  Do  you  owe  nothing  to  A7nida- Buddha  .<" 

"  '  Oh,  no:  " 

^^^The  cold  comfort  which  the  Buddhist  gets  from  his  religion  in  time 

of  trouble  is  well  illustrated  in  the  "  Parable  of  the  Mustard-seed  :  " 

*'  Kisagotami  is  the  name  of  a  young  girl  whose  marriage  with  the  only 

son  of  a  wealthy  man  was  brought  about  in  true  fairy-tale  fashion.    She 


156  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

your  own  salvation,  for  it  is  God  that  worketh  in  you 
both  to  will  and  to  do."  The  Buddhist  stands  with 
arms  reached  vainly  out,  the  very  prayer  hushed  upon 
his  lips,  his  cold  eyes  fixed  on  Nirvana,  the  end  of  all. 
The  Christian  feels  the  overshadowing  of  divine  love 
and  the  strength  of  everlasting  arms  beneath  him  ;  he 
knows  a  present  God. 

had  one  child,  but  when  the  beautiful  boy  could  run  alone  he  died.    The 
young  girl  in  her  love  for  it  carried  the  dead  child  clasped  to  her  bosom, 
and  went  from  house  to  house  of  her  pitying  friends  asking  them  to 
give  her  medicine  for  it.     But  a  Buddhist  mendicant,  thinking,  *  She 
does  not  understand,'  said  to  her,  '  My  good  girl,  I  myself  have  no  such 
medicine  as  you  ask  for,  but  I  think  I  know  of  one  who  has.' — '  Oh 
tell  me  who  that  is,'  said  Kisagotami. — •  The  Buddha  can  give  you 
medicine;  go  to  him,'  was  the  answer.     She  went  to  Gautama,  and, 
doing  homage  to  him,  said,  '  Lord  and  master,  do. you  know  any  medi- 
cine that  will  be  good  for  my  child  ?' — *  Yes,  I  know  of  some,'  said  the 
Teacher.    Now,  it  was  the  custom  for  patients  or  their  friends  to  provide 
the  herbs  which  the  doctors  required,  so  she  asked  what  herbs  he  would 
want.     '  I  want  some  mustard-seed,'  he  said ;  and  when  the  poor  girl 
eagerly  promised  to  bring  some  of  so  common  a  drug,  he  added,  '  You 
must  get  it  from  some  house  where  no  son  or  husband  or  parent  or 
slave  has  died.' — *  Very  good,'  she  said;  and  went  to  ask  for  it,  still 
canying  her  dead  child  with  her.     The  people  said,  *  Here  is  mustard- 
seed,  take  it ;'  but  when  she  asked,  '  In  my  friend's  house  has  any  son 
died  or  a  husband  or  a  parent  or  slave  ?'  they  answered,  '  Lady,  what 
is  that  you  say?    The  living  are  few,  but  the  dead  are  many.'    Then  she 
went  to  other  houses,  but  one  said,  *  I  have  lost  a  son  ;'  another,  '  We 
have  lost  our  parents;'  another,  'I  have  lost  my  slave.'     At  last,  not 
being  able  to  find  a  single  house  where  no  one  had  died,  her  mind 
began  to  clear,  and,  summoning  up  resolution,  she  left  the  dead  body 
of  her  child  in  a  forest,  and  returning  to  the  Buddha  paid  him  homage. 
He  said  to  her,  '  Have   you   the  mustard-seed  ?' — '  My  lord,'  she  re- 
plied, *I  have  not;  the  people  tell  me  that  the  living  are  few,  but  the 
dead  are  many.'     Then  he  talked  to  her  on  that  essential  part  of  his 
system — the  impermanency  of  all  things,  till  her  doul)ts  were  cleared 
away,  and,  accepting  her  lot,  she  became  a  disciple  and  entered  the 
first  path." — Buddhism,  p.  133. 


BUDDHISM.  157 

"  O  heart !  weak  follower  of  the  weak, 

That  thou  shouldst  traverse  land  and  sea, 
In  this  far  place  that  God  to  seek 
Who  long  ago  had  come  to  thee !" 

Ay,  God  is  come  down  to  us  in  the  person  of  Him 
who  is  the  fullness  of  the  Godhead  bodily.yfeuddhism 
has  no  Christ.  Its  spectre  of  a  God  is  blind  and  heart- 
less. Man,  guilty,  penitent,  despairing,  reaches  up,  but 
there  are  no  hands  reaching  down. 


X 


^'  An  immense  solitaiy  Spectre  waits ! 
It  hath  no  shape,  it  hath  no  sound, 
It  hath  no  place,  it  hath  no  time ; 
It  is,  and  was,  and  will  be ; 
It  is  never  more  nor  less,  nor  glad  nor  sad ; 
Its  name  is  Nothingness. 
Power  walketh  high,  and  Misery  doth  crawl, 
And  the  clepsydron  drips, 
And  the  sands  fall  down  in  the  hour-glass; 
Men  live  and  strive,  regret,  forget, 
And  love  and  hate,  and  know  it. 
The  Spectre  saith,  '  /  wait  /' 
And  at  the  last  it  beckons,  and  they  pass; 
And  still  the  red  sands  fall  within  the  glass. 
And  still  the  water-clock  doth  drip  and  weep ; 
And  that  is  all !" 

A  writer  in  the  Presbyterian  Foreign  Missiojiary  for 
June,  1886,  thus  marks  the  leading  contrasts  between 
Christianity  and  Buddhism : 

"  Christ  taught  the  existence  and  the  glory  of  God 
as  supreme  over  all,  the  Creator,  Upholder  and  Father ; 
Buddhism  knows  nothing  of  God  or  of  anything  like 
divine  sympathy  or  help. 

"  Christ  claimed  to  be  divine,  God  with  us ;  Gautama 


158  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

made  no  such  claim  to  a  divine  nature  or  to  divine 
power. 

"  Christ  is  represented  as  having  been  an  equal 
sharer  in  the  ineffable  purity  and  glory  of  heaven ; 
Buddha  is  said  to  have  been  once  a  hare  and  once 
a  rat,  and  Mr.  Arnold  adorns  the  contest  in  which 
Siddartha  strove  with  other  princes  for  a  beautiful  bride 
with  the  legend  that  he  once  in  like  manner  fought 
with  his  fellow-brutes  of  the  jungle  for  a  female  tiger. 

"  Christ  by  his  atonement  wrought  a  real  and  gen- 
eral salvation ;  Buddha  wrought  nothing  except  for 
himself,  and  bade  all  others  do  the  same.  *  Be  ye 
clothed  and  be  ye  fed '  was  the  only  gospel  he  had 
to  preach. 

"  Christ  held  up  the  hopes  of  an  immediate  and 
eternal  state  of  blessedness  after  death ;  Buddha  con- 
signed his  followers  to  an  almost  endless  career  of 
strivings,  with  no  real  and  positive  happiness  even  at 
the  goal. 

"  Christ  taught  that  life,  though  attended  with  fear- 
ful alternatives,  is  a  glorious  birthright,  with  promise 
of  endless  progress  in  all  virtue  and  felicity ;  Buddhism 
makes  life  an  evil  which  it  is  the  supreme  end  of  man 
to  conquer  and  virtually  extinguish." 

"  It  is  the  misfortune  of  our  time,"  says  Saint-Hilaire, 
"  that  the  same  doctrines  which  form  the  foundation  of 
Buddhism  meet  at  the  hands  of  some  of  our  philoso- 
phers with  a  favor  which  they  ill  deserve.  It  is  well 
that  they  should  learn  from  this  religion  what  becomes 
of  man  if  he  depends  on  himself  alone,  and  if  his  medi- 
tations, misled  by  a  pride  of  which  he  is  hardly  con- 


BUDDHISM.  159 

scious,  lead  him  to  the  precipice  where  Buddha  was 

lost" 

The  London  Times  not  long  ago  observed  that  "  the 
teaching  of  Buddha  is  second  only  to  the  teaching  of 
Christ."  This  was  but  an  echo  of  a  sentiment  which 
of  late  has  prevailed  among  so-called  liberal  thinkers. 
But  let  us  be  first  just,  then  generous,  toward  this  re- 
ligion. The  simple  truth  is,  that  between  the  teach-  =• 
ings  of  Christ  and  those  of  Buddha  there  is  a  gulf  as 
wide  and  bridgeless  as  that  which  separates  between 
God's  holy  of  holies  and  the  midnight  region  of  despair. 
Let  Sir  Monier  Williams,  professor  of  Sanskrit  at  Ox-  i 
ford  University,  England,  speak  : 

"  Let  us,  then,  take  Buddhism,  which  is  so  popularly 
described  as  next  to  Christianity.  Let  us  for  a  moment, 
with  all  reverence,  place  Buddhism  and  Christianity  in 
the  crucible  together.  It  is  often  said  that  Buddha's 
discourses  abound  in  moral  precepts  almost  identical 
with  those  of  Christ.  Be  it  so,  but  in  fairness  let  us 
take  a  portion  of  Buddha's  first  sermon,  which  contains 
the  cream  of  his  doctrine,  I  should  like  to  read  it 
from  the  translation  which  has  just  come  out  at  Oxford. 
The  Buddha,  who  is  said  to  be  second  only  to  Christ, 
made  use  of  these  word^^'  Birth  is  suffering.  Decay 
is  suffering.  Illness  is  suffering.  Death  is  suffering. 
The  presence  of  objects  we  hate  is  suffering.  Separa- 
tion from  objects  we  love  is  suffering.  Not  to  obtain 
what  we  desire  is  suffering.  Clinging  to  existence  is 
suffering.  Complete  cessation  of  craving  for  existence 
is  cessation  of  suffering ;  and  the  Eightfold  Path  which 
leads  to  cessation  of  suffering  is  right  belief,  right  aspi- 


l60  THE   RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

ration,  right  speech,  right  conduct,  right  means  of  live- 
lihood, right  endeavor,  right  memory,  right  meditation. 
This  is  the  noble  truth  about  suffering.' 

"  And  now,  with  all  reverence,  I  turn  on  the  other 
hand  to  the  first  gracious  words  which  proceeded  from 
the  mouth  of  the  founder  of  Christianity  as  given  by 
St.  Luke  :  '  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is  upon  me,  because 
he  hath  anointed  me  to  preach  good  tidings  to  the 
poor ;  he  hath  sent  me  to  heal  the  broken-hearted,  to 
preach  deliverance  to  the  captives,  and  recovery  of 
sight  to  the  blind ;  to  set  at  liberty  them  that  are 
bruised ;  to  preach  the  acceptable  year  of  the  Lord.' 
In  contrasting  these  first  utterances  of  two  Eastern 
teachers,  one  of  whom  we  Christians  believe  to  be 
divine,  I  ask  what  is  there  of  hope  for  poor  suffering 
humanity  in  the  first  utterance  of  Buddha?  Is  it  not 
more  like  a  death-knell  than  a  voice  proclaiming  good 
tidings  of  great  joy  to  suffering  sinners  ? 

"  I  feel  that  I  am  compelled  to  speak  out  on  this 
occasion,  even  as  I  spoke  out  recently  at  Oxford  in 
contrasting  the  Veda  of  the  Brahmans  with  our  own 
Holy  Bible,  for  a  kind  of  doctrine  called  Neo-Buddhism 
is  spreading,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  in  many  places  both  in 
Europe  and  America,  and  also  in  India,  where  we  hoped 
that  Buddhism  had  been  long  extinct. 

"  This  new  doctrine  magnifies  Buddhism,  as  if,  for- 
sooth !  it  were  a  very  rational  sort  of  creed  for  an  in- 
telligent man  to  hold  in  the  nineteenth  century.  Yes, 
monstrous  as  it  may  seem,  the  gospel  of  our  Saviour — 
the  gospel  of  peace — is  in  some  quarters  giving  place 
to  the  gospel  of  misery — the  gospel  of  Buddha — and 


BUDDHISM.  l6l 

the  former  seems  to  be  becoming  a  little  out  of  fashion 
here  and  there.  The  Buddhist  gospel  of  misery  is,  I 
fear,  in  some  places — certainly  in  India,  where  we  hoped 
it  was  extinct — coming  into  vogue.  But  mark  two  or 
three  more  contrasts  which  I  should  like  to  place  before 
you./^n  the  gospel  of  the  Buddha  we  are  told  that  the 
whole  world  lieth  in  suffering,  as  you  have  just  heard. 
In  the  gospel  of  Christ  the  whole  world  lieth  in  wicked- 
ness. '  Glory  in  your  sufferings  ;  rejoice  in  them  ;  make 
them  steps  toward  heaven,'  says  the  gospel  of  Christ. 

*  Away  with  all  suffering !  stamp  it  out,  for  it  is  the 
plague  of  humanity,'  says  the  gospel  of  Buddha.  '  The 
whole  world  is  enslaved  by  sin,'  says  the  Christian  gos- 
pel ;  *  The  whole  world  is  enslaved  by  illusion,'  says 
the  gospel  of  Buddha.  *  Sanctify  your  affections,' 
says  the  one ;  *  Suppress  them  utterly,'  says  the  other. 

*  Cherish  your  body,  and  present  it  as  a  living  sacrifice 
to  God,'  says  the  Christian  gospel ;  '  Get  rid  of  your 
body  as  the  greatest  of  all  curses,'  says  the  Buddhist. 

*  We  are  God's  workmanship,'  says  the  Christian  gos- 
pel, *  and  God  works  in  us,  and  by  us,  and  through  us;' 

*  We  are  our  own  workmanship,'  says  the  gospel  of 
Buddha,  *  and  no  one  works  in  us  but  ourselves.y~- 

"  Lastly,  the  Christian  gospel  teaches  us  to  prize  the 
gift  of  personal  life  as  the  most  sacred,  the  most  pre- 
cious, of  all  God's  gifts.  *  Life  is  real,  life  is  earnest,' 
it  seems  to  say,  and  it  bids  us  thirst  not  for  death,  not 
for  extinction,  but  for  the  living  God ;  whereas  the 
Buddhist  doctrine  stigmatizes  all  thirst  for  life  as  an 
ignorant  blunder,  and  sets  forth,  as  the  highest  of  all 

aims,  utter  extinction  of  personal  existence." 
11 


VI. 
THE  RELIGION  OF  GREECE. 


Sacred  Books :  None. 

Poets  and  Philosophers. 
I.    Tha  Gods :  M)i:hology. 

(i)  Twelve  Supreme  or  Olympic  Gods. 

(2)  The  Superior  Gods. 

(3)  The  Servile  Gods. 

(4)  Shadows. 

(5)  Monsters. 
Central  Thought :  Nature. 

II.  Philosophy :  Founder,  Thales, 

( 1 )  The  Academy ;  Plato. 

(2)  Sophists. 

(3)  Epicureans. 

(4)  Stoics ;  Zeno. 

(5)  Cynics. 

(6)  Skeptics. 

(7)  Peripatetics. 

*'  What  shall  I  do  to  be  saved  f     No  answer. 


VI.  THE  RELIGION  OF  GREECE. 

A  TRAVELER  of  the  olden  time,  sailing  up  through 
the  Saronic  Gulf,  would  be  charmed  while  yet  a  great 
way  off  by  the  shining  splendors  of  Athens,  "  the  Eye 
of  Greece,"^  and,  drawing  nearer,  he  would  mark  with 
ever-increasing  wonder  and  admiration  the  beauty  of 
its  homes  and  temples  lifting  their  white  columns  with 
golden  adornments  against  the  green  and  purple  of  the 
Hymettian  range  of  mountains.  In  the  foreground, 
though  five  miles  inland,  stood  the  Acropolis,  crowned 
with  the  citadel  for  an  helmet,  from  whose  high  summit 
a  statue  of  Athene  caught  the  morning  light  and  scat- 
tered it  far  and  wide  from  her  uplifted  shield. 

In  like  manner,  as  we  approach  our  theme,  The  Re- 
ligion of  the  Greeks,  we  find  ourselves  encompassed 
and  dazzled  by  the  most  perfect  civilization  the  world 
has  ever  known.  Art  and  science  and  literature  en- 
joyed at  once  a  golden  age  of  a  thousand  years.  The 
illustrious  names  of  history  seem  massed  together  here. 
Of  poets.  Homer  the  godlike ;  Hesiod,  wearing  the 
wreath   of  the   Heliconian   Nine ;   Sappho,  "  spotless, 

*  "  On  the  ^gean  shore  a  city  stands — 

Built  nobly,  pure  the  air  and  light  the  soil — 
Athens,  the  eye  of  Greece,  mother  of  arts 
And  eloquence,  native  to  famous  wits. 
Or  hospitable  in  her  sweet  recess, 
City  or  suburban,  studious  walks  and  shades." 

165 


1 66      THE  RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

sweetly-smiling,  violet-wreathed ;"  Sophocles,  "  the 
bee ;"  Anacreon,  whose  lips  dropped  honey ;  ^schy- 
lus,  the  poet  of  wine ;  and  Euripides,  of  whom  the 
famous  epigram  was  written, 

**  If  it  be  true  that  in  the  grave  the  dead 
Have  sense  and  knowledge,  as  some  men  have  said, 
I'd  hang  myself  to  see  Euripides." 

Of  historians,  Herodotus,  the  great  father,  and  Thu- 
cydides  and  Xenophon.  Of  philosophers,  the  immortal 
three — Socrates,  Plato  and  Aristotle,  of  whom  more 
anon.  Of  mathematicians,  Euclid,  Archimedes,  the 
inventor  of  the  lever,  and  Eratosthenes,  who  was  sur- 
named  "  measurer  of  the  universe."  Of  artists,  an 
endless  roster,  beginning  with  Phidias  and  Praxiteles. 
Of  orators,  Gorgias,  ^schines  and  his  great  rival 
Demosthenes, 

"  Whose  resistless  eloquence 
"Wielded  at  will  the  fierce  democracie, 
And  fulmined  over  Greece  to  Artaxerxes'  throne." 

What  a  roll-call !  Around  such  names  for  thousands 
of  years  have  gathered  the  glories  of  Greece.  We  may 
not  turn  aside  here  into  the  broad  field  of  general  cul- 
ture which  opens  before  us.  We  have  to  do  only  with 
the  religion  of  Greece,  her  gods  and  her  godlike  men 
who  sang  and  reasoned  about  them.  On  this  let  us 
attempt  to  converge  our  gaze  as  the  traveler  on  that 
golden  aegis  of  Athene,  the  symbol  of  an  overruling 
and  protecting — what  ? 

TJie  Greeks  a  Religio2is  People. — The  Greeks  were 
constitutionally  religious.     St.  Paul  began  his  sermon 


THE  RELIGION  OF  GREECE,  1 6/ 

on  Mars'  Hill  by  saying,  "  Ye  men  of  Athens,  I  per- 
ceive that  in  all  things  ye  are  exceedingly  devout." 
Their  habits  of  thought  were  devotional.  Their  lan- 
guage, clear,  stately  and  flexible,  was  peculiarly  adapted 
to  the  expression  of  theological  ideas.  It  was  not  a 
mere  accident  that  the  New  Testament  was  written  in 
Greek. 

Our  theme  falls  naturally  into  a  twofold  division — 
namely,  The  Gods  and  The  Philosophers.  These  can- 
not be  treated  separately,  because  the  latter  both  log- 
ically and  chronologically  succeeded  the  former,  com- 
ing upon  the  boards  just  in  time  to  save  a  melodrama 
from  degenerating  into  a  farce. 

I.  The  Gods,  or  Mythology. — Far  back  in  legendary 
times  there  came  from  the  plains  of  Bactria  in  Mid- 
Asia,  the  motherland  of  religions,  a  wandering  tribe, 
who,  pursuing  their  journey  northward,  paddling  from 
island  to  island,  found  their  way  at  length  across  the 
-^gean  into  Greece.  In  course  of  time  they  forgot 
their  birthland,  and,  wearing  a  golden  grasshopper  in 
their  hair,  called  thQms^lvQS  Autochthones  ;  that  is,  chil- 
dren of  the  soil.  They  had  brought  along  with  them 
a  religion  of  nature  akin  to  that  of  the  Rig- Veda. 

Central  Thought:  Nature. — At  this  point  we  mark 
the  leading  characteristics  of  their  mythology — viz.  the 
deification  of  nature.  Let  us  enter  their  Pantheon,  the 
temple  of  their  gods.  Here  we  shall  find  Nature  en- 
throned, the  four  elements  deified,  and  sacrifices  laid 
upon  the  altars  of  Storm  and  Season  and  Fruitful- 
ness.   "  The  Greek  moved,"  says  Dr.  Milligan,^  "  amidst 

*  In  Faiths  of  the  World. 


^t^ 


1 68      THE  RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

the  objects  that  nature  presented  to  him,  Hke  a  child  or 
a  young  animal,  to  which  ever}'thing  with  which  it 
comes  in  contact  is  as  full  of  life  as  itself.  He  listened 
to  and  endeavored  to  interpret  her  meaning  as  he  would 
have  listened  to  or  interpreted  a  companion  at  play. 
He  saw  her  act,  he  heard  her  speak,  in  every  one  of 
her  departments.  There  was  a  rippling  sound  in  the 
stream :  it  did  not  proceed  from  drops  of  water  only  ; 
it  came  from  a  living  spirit  in  the  stream,  fair  and 
sweet,  singing  with  the  waters  as  they  tripped  along. 
There  was  a  rustling  or  a  hollow  sound  in  the  wood : 
it  was  not  simply  produced  by  the  movement  of  leaves 
or  of  branches ;  it  came  from  living  spirits  inhabiting 
the  wood,  who  the  one  moment  played  in  the  breeze, 
the  next  moment  sighed  as  the  breeze  freshened  or 
groaned  as  it  deepened  into  a  gale.  A  rainbow  glis- 
tened in  the  sky :  it  was  not  there  by  chance  or  inex- 
orable law;  it  was 

*  A  midway  station  given 

For  happy  spirits  to  alight 
Betwixt  the  earth  and  heaven.'  " 

The  source  of  supply  for  the  Pantheon  was  thus  in- 
exhaustible. Nature  is  the  polytheist's  treasure -trove. 
"  Not  only  had  each  mountain-chain  and  mountain-top 
a  separate  presiding  god  or  goddess,  but  troops  of 
oreads  inhabited  the  mountain-regions  and  disported 
themselves  among  them ;  not  only  was  there  a  river- 
god  to  each  river,  a  Simois  and  a  Scamander,  an 
Enipeus  and  an  Acheloiis,  but  every  nameless  stream 
and  brooklet  had  its  water-nymph,  every  spring  and 


THE  RELIGION  OF  GREECE.  169 

fountain  its  naiad ;  wood-nymphs  peopled  the  glades 
and  dells  of  the  forest  regions ;  air-gods  moved  in  the 
zephyrs  and  the  breezes ;  each  individual  oak  had  its 
dryad.  To  the  gods  proper  were  added  the  heroes, 
gods  of  a  lower  grade,  and  these  are  spoken  of  as 
*  thirty  thousand  in  number,  guardian  demons,  spirits 
of  departed  heroes,  who  are  continually  walking  over 
earth,  veiled  in  darkness,  watching  the  deeds  of  men 
and  dispensing  weal  or  woe.' "  ^ 

It  is  customary  to  divide  the  Greek  Pantheon  into 
five  groups — namely  : 

( 1 )  The  Supreme  or  Olympic  Gods. — These  were  twelve 
in  number — six  male  (Zeus,  Poseidon,  Apollo,  Ares, 
Hephaestus  and  Hermes)  and  six  female  (Hera,  Athene, 
Artemis,  Aphrodite,  Hestia  and  Demeter). 

(2)  The  Superior  Ones. — The  vast  multitude  of  su- 
perior gods,  such  as  ^olus,  Hyperion,  Hades ;  the 
Graces,  Muses,  Furies,  Fates ;  the  Nymphs,  Naiads, 
Nereids,  and  the  like. 

(3)  The  Dependent  Ones. — The  servile  gods,  such 
as  Hebe  the  heavenly  cup-bearer.  Iris  the  messenger, 
and  all  the  servants  and  handmaids  of  the  superior 
gods. 

(4)  The  Shadozvy  Ones. — These  played  their  part 
chiefly  in  the  fabrications  of  the  poets.  They  were 
such  as  Day  and  Night,  Sleep  and  Darkness,  Death 
and  Retribution. 

(5)  Tlie  Monsters. — These  were  marvelous  or  gro- 
tesque beings  resulting  from  mismarriages  among 
gods  and  men ;  for  example,  the  Cyclopes,  the  Harpies 

1  Rawlinson's  Ancient  Religions. 


V 


/I 


170  THE  RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

and  Centaurs,  Cerberus  with  his  fifty  heads,  and  in- 
numerable "  gorgons,  hydras  and   chimeras  dire." 

Zens. — The  father  of  the  gods  was  Zeus,  or  Zeus- 
pater,  a  deification  of  aether.  Behold  him  reigning 
among  the  high  crags  of  Olympus  !  Do  clouds  and 
darkness  gather  around  its  summit  ?  They  are  visible 
tokens  of  the  anger  of  Zeus.  The  lightning  is  the  flash 
of  his  eye :  with  his  javelin,  the  thunderbolt,  he  hurls 
his  enemy  down  the  mountain-side.  This  is  the  great 
ruler  of  the  upper  heavens,  the  Primal  Principle.  As 
one  of  the  early  poets  wrote : 

"  Zeus,  the  mighty  thunderer,  is  first,  is  last, 
Is  head,  is  middle  of  all. 

He  is  the  breadth  of  the  earth,  the  height  of  the  starry  heavens, 
The  depth  of  the  sea,  the  force  of  untamed  fire, 
The  origin  of  all  things, — 
One  power,  one  god,  the  Supreme  One." 

The  expression  "  For  we  are  also  his  offspring,"  used 
by  St.  Paul  in  his  address  to  the  philosophers  (Acts 
17  :  28),  and  referred  by  him  to  certain  of  the  Greek 
poets,  is  found  in  the  following  passage  from  Aratus, 
wherein  the  author  pays  eloquent  tribute  to  this  father 
of  the  gods : 

"  With  Zeus  begin  we — let  no  mortal  voice 
Leave  Zeus  unpraised,     Zeus  fills  the  haunts  of  men, 
The  streets,  the  marts ;  Zeus  fills  the  sea,  the  shores, 
The  harbors.     Everywhere  we  live  in  Zeus. 
We  are  his  offspring  too;  friendly  to  man. 
He  gives  prognostics ;  sets  men  to  their  toil 
By  need  of  daily  bread ;  tells  when  the  land 
Must  be  upturned  by  ploughshare  or  by  spade, 
What  time  to  plant  the  olive  or  the  vine, 
What  time  to  fling  on  earth  the  golden  grain. 


THE   RELIGION  OF  GREECE.  l/I 

For  he  it  was  who  scattered  o'er  the  sky 

The  shining  stars  and  fixed  them  where  they  are. 

Provided  constellations  through  the  year 

To  mark  the  seasons  in  their  changeless  course. 

Wherefore  men  worship  him,  the  First,  the  Last. 

Their  Father,  Wonderful,  their  Help  and  Shield." 

Poseidon. — Next  to  the  great  All-Father  was  Posei- 
don, ruler  of  the  sea.  He  was  represented  with  locks 
flowing  in  the  wind,  and  in  his  right  hand  a  trident 
with  which  he  stirred  the  ocean  into  billows.  He  was 
the  sailors'  god,  invoked  with  hymns  at  the  hoisting 
of  the  anchor  and  placated  with  prayers  and  sacrifices 
at  the  approach  of  the  storm. 

Apollo. — Next  was  reckoned  Apollo,  a  very  terrestrial 
god,  patron  of  the  healing  art  and  of  eloquence,  poetry 
and  music.  He  was  a  ruler  among  men,  curbing  in 
their  behalf  "  the  fierce,  flame-breathing  steeds  of  day." 
His  statue  in  the  palace  of  the  Vatican  at  Rome, 
known  familiarly  as  the  Apollo  Belvedere,  is  remark- 
able not  only  for  its  artistic  pre-eminence,  but  as  an 
exposition  of  the  early  religious  thought  of  Greece: 

"  All,  all  divine  !  no  struggling  muscle  glows  ; 
Through  heaving  vein  no  mantling  life-blood  flows. 
But,  animate  with  deity  alone, 
In  deathless  gloiy  lives  the  breathing  stone."  ^ 

These  three — Zeus,  Apollo  and  Poseidon,  represent- 

1  "  But  if  we  ask  for  the  moral  import  of  Apollo  and  his  worship,  we 
are  speedily  at  a  loss.  Beyond  the  obvious  truth  that  happiness  is  better 
than  sadness,  it  is  difficult  to  find  any  precept  directly  bearing  on  the 
moral  welfare  of  man  in  his  religion.  He  is  the  embodiment  of  a 
glorious  natural  power,  not  of  a  moral  influence." — St.  Paulin  Greece^ 
by  Rev.  G.  S.  Davies,  M.  A. 


1/2  THE  RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

ing  Nature  in  her  three  provinces  of  heaven,  earth  and 
sea — formed  the  great  triad  of  the  Pantheon.  By  these 
were  begotten  the  multitude  of  lesser  gods. 

Hera. — Of  the  female  divinities,  the  most  important 
were  Hera,  Athene  and  Aphrodite.  The  first  was  the 
companion  of  Zeus  and  queen  of  the  Olympian  court, 
proud,  haughty  and  passionate — a  poor  pattern  for 
earthly  dames.^ 

Athene. — In  Athene  we  find  "  the  purest  and  highest 
creation  of  the  Greek  religious  spirit."  ^  She  was  the 
patron  of  home  industry  and  of  the  quiet  graces  of 

1  "  She  does  not  present  to  us  an  elevated  idea  of  female  perfection, 
since,  despite  her  exalted  rank,  she  is  subject  to  numerous  female  in- 
firmities. Mr.  Grote  notes  that  she  is  'proud,  jealous  and  bitter.'  Mr. 
Gladstone  observes  that  she  is  passionate,  wanting  in  moral  elevation, 
cruel,  vindictive  and  unscrupulous.  Her  mythological  presentation  was 
certainly  not  of  a  nature  to  improve  the  character  of  those  women  who 
might  take  her  for  their  model,  since,  although  she  was  possessed  of 
certain  great  qualities — passion,  fervor,  strong  affection,  self-command, 
courage,  acuteness — yet  she  was,  on  the  whole,  wanting  in  the  main 
elements  of  female  excellence — gentleness,  softness,  tenderness,  patience, 
submission  to  wrong,  self-renunciation,  reticence.  She  was  a  proud, 
grand,  haughty,  powerful  queen,  not  a  kind,  helpful,  persuasive,  loving 
woman.  The  mythology  of  Greece  is  in  few  points  less  satisfactory 
than  in  the  type  of  female  character  which  it  exhibits  at  the  head  of  its 
pantheon." — Rawlinson. 

*  "  In  the  ideal  of  Athene  we  have  perhaps  the  purest  creation  of  the 
Greek  religion,  and  one  in  which,  in  spite  of  its  imperfectness,  the  good 
probably  greatly  outweighed  the  bad  in  its  effects  upon  the  moral  destinies 
of  the  people,  offering  to  them  at  least  the  highest  ideal  of  divine  wisdom 
which  was  within  the  reach  of  a  nation  merely  self-taught,  and  prepar- 
ing the  mind  of  the  people  for  their  reception  thereafter  of  the  greatest 
and  purest  when  it  should  be  placed  before  them.  It  is  impossible, 
however,  even  while  we  admit  the  great  beauty  of  that  myth  by  which 
the  Greeks  accounted  for  the  creation  (not  simultaneous  with,  but  sub- 
sequent to,  other  creation)  of  their  divine  wisdom,  not  to  compare  it 
with  the  picture  drawn  for  us  of  the  Divine  Wisdom  in  the  book  of 


THE  RELIGION  OF  GREECE.  1 73 

wifehood.  She  was  reputed  to  have  sprung  full  armed 
from  the  forehead  of  Zeus,  and  was  intended  originally 
to  represent  the  dawn  appearing  in  the  east,  rising,  as 
it  were,  from  the  brow  of  the  sky. 

Aphrodite. — Aphrodite,  goddess  of  beauty  and  love, 
was  appropriately  called  the  daughter  of  heaven  and 
ocean.  "  The  lights  and  shadows  of  the  heavens,  the 
tints  of  dawn,  the  tenderness  of  clouds,  unite  with  the 
toss  and  curving  of  the  wave  in  creating  beauty — out- 
line of  the  sea,  with  light  and  color  of  the  sky."  Ten- 
nyson has  written, 

"  Aphrodite  beautiful, 
Fresh  as  the  foam,  new-bathed  in  Paphian  wells, 
With  rosy  slender  fingers  backward  drew 
From  her  warm  brow  and  bosom  her  deep  hair 
Ambrosial,  golden  round  her  lucid  throat 
And  shoulder :  from  the  violets  her  light  foot 
Shone  rosy  white,  and  o'er  her  rounded  form. 
Between  the  shadows  of  the  vine-branches, 
Floated  the  golden  sunlight  as  she  moved." 

The  Pantheon. — It  would  be  vain,  however,  to  at- 

Proverbs  (written  probably  1015  b.  C.)  when  the  Greeks  were  strug- 
gling with  the  darkness  that  surrounded  even  their  clearest  visions.  In 
the  words  of  the  king  of  Israel,  it  is  the  Divine  Wisdom  which  precedes 
all  creation,  and  is  itself  the  spring  and  fount  of  creation  :  *  I  was  set 
up  from  everlasting,  from  the  beginning,  or  ever  the  earth  was.  When 
there  were  no  depths,  I  was  brought  forth ;  when  there  were  no  foun- 
tains abounding  with  water.  Before  the  mountains  were  settled,  before 
the  hills,  was  I  brought  forth :  while  as  yet  he  had  not  made  the  earth, 
nor  the  fields,  nor  the  highest  part  of  the  dust  of  the  world.  When  he 
prepared  the  heavens,  I  was  there :  when  he  set  a  compass  upon  the 
face  of  the  depth :  when  he  established  the  clouds  above :  when  he 
strengthened  the  fountains  of  the  deep:  when  he  gave  to  the  sea  his 
decree,  that  the  waters  should  not  pass  his  commandment :  when  he  ap- 
pointed the  foundations  of  the  earth,'  " — St.  Paul  in  Greece,  Rev.  G.  S. 
Davies,  M.  a. 


174  THE  RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

tempt  to  enumerate  the  gods.  There  were  many- 
thousands  of  them.  It  was  a  trite  saying  that  in 
Athens  it  was  easier  to  find  a  god  than  a  man. 
All  Nature  was  populous  with  deities:  in  them,  in- 
deed, she  made  herself  known.  "The  Greek,"  says 
James  Freeman  Clarke,  "  went  nowhere  without  find- 
ing some  spot  over  which  hung  the  charm  of  ro- 
mantic or  tender  association.  Within  every  brook  was 
hidden  a  naiad ;  by  the  side  of  every  tree  lurked  a 
dryad ;  if  you  listen  you  may  hear  the  oreads  calling 
among  the  mountains,  or  if  you  come  cautiously 
around  the  bending  hill  you  may  catch  a  glimpse  of 
great  Pan  himself.  When  the  moonlight  showers  filled 
the  forests  one  might  see  the  untouched  Artemis  glid- 
ing rapidly  among  the  mossy  trunks,  while  beneath, 
in  the  deep  abysses,  reigned  the  gloomy  Pluto,  with 
the  sad  Persephone  homesick  for  the  upper  air.  By 
the  seashore  Proteus  wound  his  horn,  the  Sirens  sang 
their  fatal  song  among  the  rocks,  the  Nereids  and 
Oceanides  gleamed  beneath  the  green  waters ;  and 
vast  Amphitrite  stretched  her  all-embracing  arms." 
There  were  gods  everywhere.  All  nature  was  ani- 
mated with  divine  life,      ^v  ' 

The  Gods  Humanized. — As  time  passed  on,  however, 
the  thought  of  nature  was  so  enlarged  as  to  take  in 
human  nature ;  and  at  this  point  began  the  humaniza- 
tion  of  the  gods.  They  were  bro^ught  down  from  the 
clouds  and  forth  from  the  shadowy  dells  and  grottos, 
and  made  to  take  upon  themselves  the  form  and  fashion 
of  humanity.  The  Olympian  gods  were  now  simply 
men  and  women  made  after  a  large  pattern  and  endowed 


THE  RELIGION  OF  GREECE.  175 

with  extraordinary  gifts  and  graces.  They  ate  and 
drank,  labored  and  slept,  made  love  and  war.  "  They 
lived  and  laughed,  and  quarreled  and  strove  and  sinned 
in  the  Olympian  commonwealth  as  if  they  had  belonged 
to  the  Agora  or  to  the  purlieus  of  a  Greek  city.  No 
doubt  they  were  stronger  and  more  beautiful  than  the 
inhabitants  of  earth ;  a  finer  blood  coursed  in  their 
veins,  and  they  were  nourished  by  more  heavenly 
food ;  but  they  made  merry  like  revelers  of  earth  upon 
their  mountain-top,  and  when  they  descended  from  it 
to  the  world  below  they  were  often  mistaken  for  mor- 
tal men."  ^  They  were,  indeed,  simply  men  "  projected 
on  the  skies." 

Thus,  in  process  of  time  the  Greek  mythology  came 
down  to  the  levels  of  common  life.  And  herein  lies 
the  explanation  of  its  swift  decay  and  death.     If  a  false 

^  Rev.  William  Milligan,  D.  D.,  in  Faiths  of  the  World.  The  same 
writer  says :  **  The  Greek  had  an  inborn  sense  at  once  of  the  greatness 
and  the  beauty  of  man.  During  the  earlier  stages  of  his  history  he  had 
been  nursed  amidst  the  active  politics  of  the  little  state  to  which  he  be- 
longed and  which  maintained  a  proud  independence  of  every  other. 
At  a  later  stage,  when  the  different  states  of  the  same  Hellenic  blood 
felt  the  necessity  of  union,  he  cultivated  the  feeling  of  a  common 
brotherhood  at  the  Olympic  or  the  Isthmian  games,  which  were  the 
very  apotheosis  of  muscular  strength  and  physical  energy.  A  happy 
climate  and  a  fruitful  soil  had  developed  into  its  most  perfect  form  the 
frame  which  is  often  relaxed  beneath  the  heat  of  a  southern  or  cramped  by 
the  cold  of  a  northern  clime.  The  noblest  productions,  too,  of  the  merely 
human  intellect  had  appeared  in  Greece;  and  it  would  be  absurd  to 
suppose  that  those  whose  poetry  and  art  have  delighted  all  other  ages 
of  the  world  should  themselves  have  failed  to  perceive  their  sublimity 
and  their  gracefulness.  Man,  in  short,  considered  merely  as  a  being 
of  this  world,  was  to  the  Greek  the  expression  of  all  that  was  best  and 
brightest  in  his  thoughts.  What  could  he  do  but  humanize  his  gods  ? 
This,  accordingly,  was  what  he  did." 


1/6  THE  RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

god  is  to  inspire  confidence,  he  must  keep  his  distance. 
Let  him  come  too  near  and  he  will  show  the  leather 
and  prunella.  The  people  began  to  suspect  that  their 
gods  were  but  a  trifle  better  than  themselves,  and  they 
smiled  in  each  other's  faces  even  as  they  laid  their  gifts 
upon  the  altar.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the  end. 
One  of  the  poets  wrote : 

"  Homer  and  Hesiod,  whom  we  own  great  doctors  of  theology, 
Said  many  things  of  blissful  gods  that  cry  for  large  apology — 
That  they  may  cheat  and  rail  and  lie,  and  give  the  rein  to  passion ; 
Which  were  a  crime  in  men  who  tread  the  dust  in  mortal  fashion." 

The  Gods  Immoral. — It  was  true.  The  gods  of 
Olympus  were  a  company  of  revelers.  Hermes  was 
a  thief;  Aphrodite,  a  drab  ;  Athene,  an  adept  at  billings- 
gate ;  Hera,  no  better  than  she  ought  to  be ;  and  Zeus, 
their  worthy  sire,  a  base  deceiver,  who  oftentimes  drank 
too  deeply  of  the  mirth-inspiring  nectar,  quarreled  with 
his  guests,  and  was  faithless  to  his  wife,  whom  he  "  hung 
up  in  mid-heaven  with  anvils  tied  to  her  heels."  ^ 

"Like  Gods,  like  People!' — These  being  the  gods, 
what  should  the  people  be  ?  Away  from  the  solemn 
rites  of  nature-worship  they  were  led  by  these  human- 
ized deities  into  vanity  of  imagination  and  darkness  of 
heart.    The  gods  themselves  were  the  great  corrupters. 

^  "  The  gods  of  antiquity,  particularly  those  of  Greece,  were  of  in- 
famous character.  Whilst  they  were  represented  by  their  votaries  as 
excelling  in  beauty  and  activity,  strength  and  intelligence,  they  were 
also  described  as  envious  and  gluttonous,  base,  lustful  and  revengeful. 
Jupiter,  the  king  of  the  gods,  was  deceitful  and  licentious;  Juno,  the 
queen  of  heaven,  was  cruel  and  tyrannical.  What  could  be  expected 
from  those  who  honored  such  deities?" — The  Ancient  Church,  W.  D. 
KiLLEN,  D.  D. 


THE  RELIGION  OF  GREECE.  lyy 

"  Wandering  o'er  the  earth, 
By  falsities  and  lies  the  greatest  part 
Of  mankind  they  corrupted  to  forsake 
God  their  Creator,  and  th'  invisible 
Glory  of  Him  that  made  them  to  transfonn 
Oft  to  the  image  of  a  brute,  adorn' d 
With  gay  religions  full  of  pomp  and  gold, 
And  devils  to  adore  for  deities." 

Nor  was  this  all.  Not  only  were  the  altars  defiled,  but 
the  lives  of  the  worshipers  were  also  debased  and  sen- 
sualized. 

"  Like  gods  they  lived,  with  happy,  careless  souls, 
From  toil  and  care  exempt.     Nor  on  them  crept 
Wretched  old  age ;  but  all  their  life  was  passed 
In  feasting;  and  when  they  died, 
'Twas  but  as  if  they  were  o'ercome  by  sleep." 

Happy,  sensual  Greeks !  They  lived,  indeed,  "  like 
gods ;"  and  what  better  could  be  expected  of  them  ? 
They  had  no  longer  a  serious  ideal  of  manhood.^    There 

1  "  One  may,  I  think,  fairly  say  that  Homer  means  Achilles  to  be  t^e 
hero  of  the  Iliad,  at  any  rate  on  the  Greek  side.  He  is,  in  every  sense, 
the  most  heroic  of  the  Greeks,  and  may  perhaps  be  quoted  as  Homer's 
ideal  of  what  a  hero  should  be.  He  lacks,  therefore,  many  of  the  little- 
nesses which  deface  Agamemnon  and  others  of  the  Greeks.  Yet  even 
at  the  moment  of  his  highest  achievement,  his  conquest  of  Hector  in 
the  single  combat  beneath  the  walls  of  Troy,  he  is  represented  to  us  in 
a  light  which  makes  us  forget  all  other  traits  in  him  except  the  unspeak- 
able want  of  generosity  toward  a  noble  but  fallen  enemy.  Nor  is  it 
possible  that  Homer  should  have  so  painted  the  choicest  of  his  heroes 
if  it  was  likely  to  have  marred  him  so  completely  in  the  eyes  of  his  then 
readers  (or  rather  hearers)  as  it  does  in  ours.  Hector,  failing  fast,  thus 
begs  his  conqueror  to  grant  him  the  one  favor  that  his  dead  body  shall 
not  be  cast  in  dishonor  to  the  dogs  and  vultures,  but  sent  back  to  Troy 
to  be  buried  by  his  relations.  The  Greek  replies — addressing  the  dying 
man  as  '  hound  !' — that  nothing  would  induce  him  to  forego  the  pleasure 
12 


1/8  THE  RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

was  a  theatre  in  Athens  provided  with  thirty  thousand 
seats,  and  it  is  said  to  have  been  filled  every  day. 
Life  was  valued  only  for  the  pleasure  that  could  be 
crowded  into  it.  Mimnermus  said  :  "  When  the  flower 
of  youth  is  past  it  were  better  to  die.  Life  without  the 
golden-haired  goddess  is  not  worth  living." 

Forms  of  Worship. — The  worship  of  the  Greeks  was 
offered  in  sacrifices  and  prayers  and  festivals.  The 
sacrifices  were  only  for  great  emergencies.  The  pray- 
ers were  genuine  and  instinctive  breathings  of  desire. 
"  They  threw  kisses  to  the  gods  upon  their  hands." 
But  if  we  would  see  their  religion  at  its  best,  and  at 
its  worst  also,  we  must  visit  the  festivals.^  These 
were  held  in  the  open  air,  with  magnificent  processions, 
dances,  athletic  sports,  tournaments  of  poets  and  musi- 
cians, chariot-races  and  whatever  else  a  pleasure-loving 
people  could  devise.     The  so-called  "  mysteries  "  were 

of  leaving  his  hated  enemy  to  the  dogs,  and  that  he  only  regrets  that  he 
cannot  eat  his  flesh  raw." — St.  Paul  in  Greece,  Davies,  pp.  38,  39. 

^  "  The  Greek  looked  forward  to  his  holy  days  as  true  holidays,  and 
was  pleased  to  combine  duty  with  pleasure  by  taking  his  place  in  the 
procession  or  the  temple  or  the  theatre,  to  which  inclination  and  religion 
alike  called  him.  Thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  flocked  to  each 
of  the  great  Pan-Hellenic  gatherings,  delighting  in  the  splendor  and 
excitement  of  the  scene,  in  the  gay  dresses,  the  magnificent  equipages, 
the  races,  the  games,  the  choric  and  other  contests.  *  These  festivals,' 
as  has  been  well  observed,  '  were  considered  as  the  very  cream  of  the 
Greek  life,  their  periodical  recurrence  being  expected  with  eagerness 
and  greeted  with  joy.'  Similarly,  though  to  a  minor  extent,  each  na- 
tional or  even  tribal  gathering  was  an  occasion  of  enjoyment;  cheerful- 
ness, hilarity,  sometimes  an  excessive  exhilaration,  prevailed  ;  and  the 
religion  of  the  Greeks,  in  these  its  most  striking  and  obvious  manifesta- 
tions, was  altogether  bright,  festive  and  pleasurable." — Ancient  Religions^ 
Rawlinson,  p.  153. 


THE  RELIGION  OF  GREECE.  1 79 

closely  connected  with  these  diversions,  and  consisted 
mainly  of  striking  representations,  dramatic  and  other- 
wise, of  the  adventures  of  the  gods.^  All  this  was  wor- 
ship. The  poet  sang  the  praises  of  Apollo  ;  the  wrestler 
called  on  Hercules  ;  and  the  lewd  dancers,  flushed  with 
wine,  mingled  the  names  of  Bacchus  and  Aphrodite, 

This  was  the  last  chapter.  Religion  had  become 
low  comedy;  the  gods  wore  the  buskins.  Lucian 
began  to  write  satires  against  them ;  he  was  called 
"  blasphemer :"  it  mattered  not ;  he  went  on  with  the 
unmasking  of  the  tricksters.  Some  one  asks  of  He- 
raclitus  :  "  What  do  you  hold  human  life  to,  be  ?"  He 
answers,  "A  child  at  play,  handling  its  toys  and  chang- 
ing them  with  every  changing  whim." 

"  And  what  are  men  ?" 
«  Gods,  but  mortal/' 

*  "  The  mysteries  were  certain  secret  rites  practiced  by  voluntary  asso- 
ciations of  individuals,  who  pledged  themselves  not  to  reveal  to  the  un- 
initiated anything  which  they  saw  or  heard  at  the  secret  meetings.  They 
were  usually  connected  with  the  worship  of  some  particular  god,  and 
consisted  mainly  in  symbolical  representations  of  the  adventures  and 
circumstances  connected  with  the  god  in  the  mythology.  They  con- 
tained nothing  that  was  contradictory  to  the  popular  religion,  and  little 
that  was  explanatory  of  it.  The  various  mysteries  had  each  its  own 
apparatus  of  symbols  and  formularies,  by  which  the  viystce  knew  each 
other,  as  Freemasons  do ;  but  they  only  vaguely  hinted  at  any  theolog- 
ical dogmas  or  opinions.  The  Greek  greatly  affected  these  secret  rites ; 
and  it  is  said  that  but  few  Greeks  were  not  initiated  in  some  mystery  or 
other.  Their  attraction  lay  in  their  veil  of  secrecy,  transparent  though 
it  was;  in  the  variety  of  feelings  brought  into  play  by  lively  dramatic 
representations ;  in  the  rapid  transition  from  anxiety  and  suspense  to 
serenity  and  joy,  and  the  combination  of  all  arts  and  artistic  enjoyments, 
of  music  and  song,  the  mimic  dance,  the  brilliant  lighting  up  and  effect- 
ive decoration," — Ancient  Religions,  Rawlinson,  pp.  154,  155. 


l80  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

«' And  the  gods?" 

"  The  gods  ?     They  are  men,  but  immortal." 

I  III.  Philosophy. — We  come  now  to  consider  the  phil- 
:  osophies.  In  time  the  degeneracy  of  the  gods  brought 
on  an  age  of  doubt  and  inquiry.  The  shrines  were 
abandoned ;  the  fires  slowly  died  out  upon  the  altars ; 
and  from  the  deep  recesses  of  the  forest  the  winds  came 
wailing,  "  Great  Pan  is  dead  !"  By  the  river-banks  were 
planted  groves  and  gardens ;  on  the  hillsides  porches 
were  built,  and  among  them  walked  thoughtful  men 
wearing  a  new  name — Philosophoi,  or  **  lovers  of  wis- 
dom." These  were  the  protestants  of  that  day,  who 
fearlessly  approached  the  stalking  ghosts  and  spectres 
of  the  popular  religion  and  laughed  them  out  of  coun- 
tenance. They  summoned  the  gods  before  the  bar  of 
reason  and  subjected  the  myths  to  critical  analysis. 
Then  came  the  inevitable  :  Anaxagoras  was  condemned 
to  death  for  blasphemy,  and  a  noble  troop  followed  in 
his  train ;  Pericles  was  branded  as  a  heretic  for  lifting 
his  eyebrows  at  the  Olympian  fables ;  and  Socrates 
was  doomed  to  drink  the  cup  of  hemlock.  This  is 
the  universal  law :  the  darkness  begets  death,  and  out 
of  death  comes  newness  of  life.  No  falsehood  is  im- 
mortal. 

"  The  outworn  rite,  the  old  abuse, 

The  pious  fraud  transparent  grown, 
The  good  held  captive  in  the  use 

Of  wrong  alone, — 
These  wait  their  doom,  from  that  great  law 
Which  makes  the  past  time  serve  to-day; 
And  fresher  life  the  world  shall  draw 
From  their  decay." 


THE  RELIGION  OF  GREECE.  l8l 

No  age  of  reform  is  without  its  martyrs,  but  out  of 
their  dust  arise  armies  that  grasp  the  standard  and  go 
marching  on. 

The  mythology  of  Greece  had  been  intended  to  meet 
the  soul's  demand  for  an  object  of  worship ;  but  the 
philosophers,  their  eyes  pained  with  looking  upward 
into  a  voiceless  and  unwritten  sky,  turned  their  gaze 
away  toward  the  origin  of  things.  This  was  the  ques- 
tion they  sought  to  explain :  "  Whence  came  the  uni- 
verse and  I  ?"  The  starting-point  of  philosophy  was 
doubt ;  its  first  step  was  into  illimitable  paths  of  fear- 
less inquiry;  its  hoped-for  destination  was  truth.  Once, 
and  only  once,  the  Greeks  approached  the  realization  of 
that  hope  when  from  the  stone  steps  of  the  Areopagus 
they  looked  up  into  the  face  of  Christ's  apostle,  half 
ready  to  believe  the  words  that  were  falling  from  his 
fire-touched  lips. 

It  will  not  be  unprofitable  to  note  some  of  the  more 
illustrious  names  of  those  who  were  identified  with  this 
philosophic  movement,  this  grander  quest  than  of  San 
Greal  or  the  Golden  Fleece. 

The  Founder,  TJiales. — The  founder  of  philosophy 
was  Thales,  about  600  b.  c.  He  devoted  his  attention 
to  physical  science,  beginning  with  the  assumption  that 
water  is  the  First  Principle.  His  intention,  probably, 
was  to  establish  an  alliance  between  philosophic  re- 
search and  the  popular  faith  in  Oceanus  as  one  of  the 
parent  gods.  An  advance  was  made  when  Pythagoras 
asserted  that  the  First  Principle  of  all  things  is  num- 
ber. He  was  the  inventor  of  the  multiplication  table. 
One  of  his  cardinal  precepts  was,  "  All  comes  from 


1 82  THE  RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

one,"  or,  in  other  words,  "  God  embraces  all,  inspires 
all,  and  is  only  One."  Here  is  an  example  of  this 
teacher's  golden  verses,  and  the  gold  is  lustrous  still : 

"  Ne'er  suffer  thine  eyes  to  close 
Before  thy  mind  hath  run 
O'er  every  act  and  thought  and  word 
From  dawn  to  set  of  sun."  ^ 

Out  of  the  researches  and  speculations  of  such 
pioneers  came  the  Seven  Schools  of  Philosophy — 
namely : 

(i)  The  Academy. — Socrates  was  the  discoverer  of 
conscience  among  the  Greeks  and  the  founder  of 
ethical  science.  He  denounced  the  gods,  asserted 
that  virtue  is  the  most  desirable  thing,  and  was  an 
enthusiast  in  the  pursuit  of  truth.  He  said :  "  I  have 
uttered  some  things  of  which  I  am  not  altogether  con- 
fident ;  but  I  am  ready  to  contend  to  the  utmost  of 
my  ability,  in  word  and  deed,  to  prove  that  we  shall 
be  better  and  braver  and  less  helpless  if  we  think  that 
we  ought  to  inquire  than  we  can  possibly  be  in  the 
indulgence  of  the  idle  fancy  that  there  is  no  knowing 
and  no  use  in  searching  after  what  we  know  not."    He 

^  "  "With  such  perfect  confidence  did  his  disciples  regard  their  master, 
who  usually  gave  his  instructions  from  behind  a  thick  curtain,  that  when 
any  one  called  their  doctrines  in  question  they  deemed  it  sufficient  to 
reply,  '  He  said  so '  {ipse  dixit).  Indeed,  they  invested  him  with  super- 
natural powers,  nor,  according  to  his  early  biographies,  did  he  deny  the 
soft  impeachment.  On  one  occasion,  we  are  told,  to  convince  his  pupils 
that  he  was  a  god  he  showed  them  his  thigh,  which  was  of  gold,  and 
declared  that  he  had  assumed  the  form  of  humanity  only  the  more 
readily  to  impart  his  letters  to  mankind." — QuACKENBOs's  Ancient 
Literature. 


THE  RELIGION  OF  GREECE.  1 83 

had  also  vague  dreams  of  immortality.  In  prison  he 
said :  "  A  man  that  hath  arrayed  his  soul  in  its  own 
proper  jewels — which  are  wisdom,  temperance,  courage 
and  justice — is  prepared  to  go  at  the  appointed  hour 
on  his  journey  to  the  other  world."  And  with  the 
hemlock  at  his  lips  he  said  to  his  weeping  friends,  "  I 
take  comfort  in  the  hope  that  something  remains  of 
man  after  death." 

But  Socrates  himself  founded  no  school ;  it  was  left 
for  his  disciple  Plato  to  establish  the  Academy,  where 
he  was  accustomed  to  walk  among  the  plane  trees  dis- 
coursing on  the  four  cardinal  virtues^  and  on  the  prob- 
lems of  immortality  and  a  personal  God.  He  was  a 
loyal  follower  of  Socrates,  but  his  life  was  purer  and 
his  eyes  were  clearer  to  see  within  the  veil.  Over  the 
doorway  of  his  lecture-room  was  written,  "  Let  no  one 
enter  here  who  is  a  stranger  to  the  symmetry  of  a  vir- 
tuous life." 

(2)  The  Sophists,  a  favorite  school  in  Athens.  These 
were  the  "  word-snapping  quibblers  "  who  denied  that 
there  was  any  radical  difference  between  right  and 
wrong,  and  who  devoted  themselves  to  the  task  of 
"  making  the  worse  appear  the  better  reason."     With 

^  "  Plato  was  an  enthusiast  in  the  pursuit  of  truth.  He  believed  in  a 
personal  God,  rational,  immutable,  eternal.  He  realized  that  man  could 
never  attain  absolute  wisdom,  possible  to  God  alone,  and  looked  upon 
philosophy  as  '  a  longing  after  heavenly  wisdom.'  He  sought  to  cor- 
rect abuses,  to  elevate  humanity,  and  made  man's  highest  duty  consist 
in  searching  out  God  and  imitating  the  perfection  of  the  Almighty  as  his 
rule  of  conduct.  The  four  cardinal  virtues  were  wisdom,  temperance, 
courage  and  justice ;  but  none  could  be  virtuous  without  aid  from  on 
high." — QuACKENBOS's  Ancient  Literature^  p.  243. 


1 84  THE  RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

them  originated  the  saying,  "  Might  makes  right." 
They  undertook  to  prove  "  that  knowing  one  thing 
is  knowing  everything,  and  there  is  no  such  thing  as 
knowing  anything  at  all ;  that  as  the  beautiful  exists 
by  the  presence  of  beauty,  so  a  man  becomes  an  ass 
by  the  presence  of  an  ass ;  and  so  on,  ringing  myriads 
of  changes,  like  the  fools  in  Shakespeare,  upon  these 
quirks  of  jugglery."  A  satirist,  pointing  to  their 
grove,  said : 

"  That's  the  great  thinking-school  of  the  new  philosophy ; 
There  live  the  men  who  teach  that  heaven  around  us 
Is  a  vast  oven,  and  we  the  charcoal  in  it. 
And  they  teach  also — for  a  consideration,  mind  you — 
To  plead  a  cause  and  win  it,  right  or  wrong."  ^ 

(3)  Tlie  Epicureani>^  or  school  of  Epicurus.  They 
were  materialists,  holding  that  matter  is  the  sum  and 
substance  of  all,  and  that  the  apparent  order  of  the 
universe  is  the  result  of  a  fortuitous  concourse  of 
atoms.  This  obviously  rules  out  God,  immortality 
and  moral  responsibility.  The  philosophy  of  Epicurus 
finds  its  monograph  in  the  maxim,  "  Let  us  eat  and 

1  "  ^^^lat  shall  we  say  of  such  a  system  and  such  a  state  of  things  ? 
Simply  this :  that  it  indicated  a  complete  mental  and  social  demoraliza- 
tion— mental  demoralization,  for  the  principles  of  knowledge  were  sap- 
ped, and  man  was  persuaded  that  his  reason  was  no  guide ;  social  demor- 
alization, for  he  was  taught  that  right  and  wrong,  virtue  and  vice,  con- 
science and  law  and  God,  are  imaginary  fictions;  that  there  is  no  harm 
in  the  commission  of  sin,  though  there  may  be  harm,  as  assuredly  there 
is  folly,  in  being  detected  therein;  that  it  is  excellent  for  a  man  to  sell 
his  country  to  the  Persian  king,  provided  that  the  sum  of  money  he 
receives  is  large  enough,  and  that  the  transaction  is  so  darkly  conducted 
that  the  public,  and  particularly  his  enemies,  can  never  find  it  out."— 
Draper's  Intellectual  Development  of  Eui-ope,  i.  p.  136. 


THE  RELIGION  OF  GREECE.  1 85 

drink,  for  to-morrow  we  die."  He  made  expediency 
the  test  of  action ;  he  said,  **  We  are  governed  by 
chance;  pleasure  is  the  highest  good;  death  ends  all."  ^ 
(4)  Tlie  Stoics. — This  school  was  founded  by  Zeno, 
who  taught  the  precise  opposite  of  the  Epicurean  sys- 
tem. The  latter  made  expediency  the  supreme  pur- 
pose ;  in  the  philosophy  of  Zeno  the  chief  end  of  man 
was  to  adjust  his  life  to  the  order  of  nature.^  There  is 
nothing  higher  than  duty,  nothing  more  heroic  than 
mastery  of  self  The  Stoics  were  sublime  egotists. 
They  were  also  predestinarians  of  the  straitest  sect. 
Zeno's  slave,  detected  in  stealing,  cried  out,  "  O  mas- 
ter, I  am  a  Stoic ;  it  was  fated  that  I  should  steal." — 
"  Yes,"  retorted  his  master,  "  and  it  was  also  fated  that 

^  "  In  its  best  shape  Epicureanism  was  little  better  than  a  prudent 
selfishness ;  in  its  worst  it  degenerated  into  vice.  In  St.  Paul's  day  the 
Epicureans  were  like  the  Sadducees,  the  pleasure-loving  men  of  the 
world,  who  adopted  the  principle,  but  repudiated  the  example,  of  their 
master.  The  physical  philosophy  of  Epicurus  produced  the  sublime 
poem  of  Lucretius,  but  in  the  spirit  and  tone  of  his  morality,  in  his 
austere  and  intense  moral  earnestness,  Lucretius  was  far  more  of  a 
Stoic  than  an  Epicurean.  The  genial  and  pleasant  Horace  was  an 
Epicurean,  but  the  type  of  life  which  Horace  preaches  is  lower  than 
that  of  his  teacher.  Or  take  as  the  representative  of  the  better  class 
of  Epicureans  in  Roman  times,  of  men  who  understood  how  to  seek 
pleasure  in  a  refined,  gentlemanly  way,  declining  every  public  duty  and 
living  a  life  of  lettered  ease,  Atticus,  the  friend  of  Cicero.  Him  Sir 
James  Mackintosh  has  called  in  language  not  one  whit  too  severe,  '  the 
accomplished,  prudent,  friendly,  good-natured  time-server,  Atticus,  the 
pliant  slave  of  every  tyrant,  who  could  kiss  the  hand  of  Antony,  im- 
brued as  it  was  in  the  blood  of  Cicero.' " — St.  Paul  at  Athens,  Shake- 
speare, pp.  120,  121. 

^  "  The  ethical  theory  of  the  Stoics  may  be  summed  up  as  consisting 
in  the  subordination  of  our  instinctive  love  of  pleasure  and  instinctive 
shrinking  from  pain  to  obedience  to  the  moral  order  revealed  in  the 
world." — Ibid.,  p.  132. 


1 86  THE  RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

you  should  be  flogged  for  it."  Taken  for  all  in  all,  the 
Stoa,  or  **  Painted  Porch,"  was  the  most  admirable  of 
the  schools.  Its  spirit  finds  expression  in  the  soliloquy 
of  Archilochus : 

"  My  soul,  my  soul !  by  cares  past  all  relief 

Distracted  sore,  bear  up,  with  manly  breast 
And  dauntless  mien,  each  fresh  assault  of  grief 

Encountering.     By  hostile  weapons  pressed. 
Stand  firm.     Let  no  unlooked-for  triumph  move 

To  empty  exultation,  no  defeat 
Cast  down.     But  still  let  moderation  prove 

Of  life's  uncertain  cup  the  bitter  and  the  sweet."  ^ 

(5)  Tlie  Cynics. — These  were  misanthropes.  Their 
greatest  name  was  Diogenes,  who  affected  the  manners 
of  a  lazy  vagrant.^     They  professed  to  entertain  a  pro- 

1  "  Zeno  brought  into  use  the  method  of  refuting  error  by  the  redudio 
ad  absurdum.  His  compositions  were  in  prose,  and  not  in  poetry  as 
were  those  of  his  predecessors.  As  it  had  been  the  object  of  Par- 
menides  to  establish  the  existence  of  *  the  One,'  it  was  the  object  of 
Zeno  to  establish  the  non-existence  of  '  the  many.'  Agreeably  to  such 
principles,  he  started  from  the  position  that  only  one  thing  really  exists, 
and  that  all  others  are  mere  modifications  or  appearances  of  it."  .  .  . 
*'  He  furnishes  us  with  an  illustration  of  the  fallibility  of  the  indications 
of  sense  in  his  argument  against  Protagoras.  It  may  be  here  intro- 
duced as  a  specimen  of  his  method :  '  He  asked  if  a  grain  of  corn  or 
the  ten-thousandth  part  of  a  grain  would,  when  it  fell  to  the  ground, 
make  a  noise.  Being  answered  in  the  negative,  he  further  asked 
whether,  then,  would  a  measure  of  corn.  This  being  necessarily 
affirmed,  he  then  demanded  whether  the  measure  was  not  in  some 
determinate  ratio  to  the  single  grain ;  as  this  could  not  be  denied,  he 
was  able  to  conclude  either,  then,  the  bushel  of  corn  makes  no  noise 
on  falling,  or  else  the  very  smallest  portion  of  a  grain  does  the  same." — 
Draper's  Intellectual Develop7nent  of  Einope,  i.  pp.  122,  123. 

'  "  He  may  be  considered  as  the  prototype  of  the  hermits  of  a  later 
period  in  his  attempts  at  the  subjugation  of  the  natural  appetites  by  means 
of  starvation.     Looking  upon  the  body  as  a  mere  clog  to  the  soul,  he 


THE  RELIGION  OF  GREECE.  1 8/ 

found  contempt  for  the  affairs  of  the  world  and  the 
opinions  of  men.  Their  philosophy  is  aptly  said  to 
have  been  "  steeped  in  gall." 

(6)  The  Skeptics,  or  Agnostics,  founded  by  Pyrro. 
They  glorified  doubt.  "  All  things  are  uncertain ; 
there  is  no  standard  of  truth."  "  We  assert  nothing," 
said  they,  "  no,  not  even  that  we  assert  nothing." 
"  Sense  is  limited,  intellect  is  weak,  life  is  short."  This 
is  the  philosophy  of  despair. 

(7)  The  Peripatetics,  founded  by  Aristotle.  He  orig- 
inated the  inductive  method  of  reasoning — i.  e.  from 
particulars  to  universals  ^ — which  is  the  opposite  of  the 

mortified  it  in  every  possible  manner,  feeding  it  on  raw  meat  and  leaves 
and  making  it  dwell  in  a  tub.  He  professed  that  the  nearer  a  man 
approaches  to  suicide  the  nearer  he  approaches  to  virtue.  He  wore 
no  other  dress  than  a  scanty  cloak ;  a  wallet,  a  stick  and  a  drinking- 
cup  completed  his  equipment :  the  cup  he  threw  away  as  useless  on 
seeing  a  boy  take  water  in  the  hollow  of  his  hand.  It  was  his  delight 
to  offend  every  idea  of  social  decency  by  performing  all  the  acts  of  life 
publicly,  asserting  that  whatever  is  not  improper  in  itself  ought  to  be 
done  openly.  It  is  said  that  his  death,  which  occurred  in  his  ninetieth 
year,  was  in  consequence  of  devouring  a  neat's  foot  raw.  From  his 
carrying  the  Socratic  notions  to  an  extreme  he  merits  the  designation 
applied  to  him,  *  the  mad  Socrates.'  His  contempt  for  the  opinions  of 
others  and  his  religious  disbelief  are  illustrated  by  an  incident  related 
of  him,  that,  having  in  a  moment  of  weakness  made  a  promise  to  some 
friends  that  he  would  offer  a  sacrifice  to  Diana,  he  repaired  the  next 
day  to  her  temple,  and,  taking  a  louse  fi-om  his  head,  cracked  it  upon 
her  altar.'* — Draper's  Intellectual  Development  of  Europe,  i.  p.  150. 

1  "  The  philosophical  method  of  Aristotle  is  the  inverse  of  that  of 
Plato,  whose  starting-point  was  universals,  the  very  existence  of  which 
was  a  matter  of  faith,  and  from  these  he  descended  to  particulars  or 
details.  Aristotle,  on  the  contrary,  rose  from  particulars  to  universals, 
advancing  to  them  by  inductions ;  and  his  system,  thus  an  inductive 
philosophy,  was  in  reality  the  true  beginning  of  science." — Ibid.,  i, 
p.  176. 


1 88  THE  RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

method  of  Plato.  The  latter  was  an  idealist ;  Aristotle 
was  a  materialist,  holding  nothing  true  which  could 
not  be  demonstrated,  and  therefore  rejecting  as  unsub- 
stantial all  the  great  verities  of  the  eternal  world. 

We  have  thus  hastily  glanced  at  the  various  systems 
of  philosophy  that  arose  and  flourished  in  Greece  at 
one  time  or  another  during  her  thousand  golden  years. 
Here  was  a  great  step  onward  from  the  Bacchanalia  and 
the  Olympic  games.  The  Greeks  were  beginning  to 
feel  after  God,  if  haply  they  might  find  him.  Yet  how 
dim  were  their  eyes !  One  of  the  philosophers  said 
God  was  fire ;  another,  water ;  another,  air ;  another 
said, 

*'  All  eyes,  all  ears,  all  thought  is  God,  the  Omnipresent  Soul."  ^ 

It  was  demanded  of  Simonides  by  the  king  of  Syracuse 
that  he  should  define  God.  After  weeks  of  meditation 
he  answered,  "  The  more  I  think  of  him,  the  more  he 
is  unknown."  To  this  inglorious  result  had  their  phil- 
osophy come  in  its  ten  centuries :  its  best  summary  at 
the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era  was  an  interroga- 
tion-mark.    And  Paul  said,  "  As  I  passed  by  and  be- 

^  "  The  idea  of  one  Supreme  God,  combining  all  the  attributes  of 
divinity — omniscience,  omnipotence,  wisdom,  love — viras,  by  the  very 
nature  of  the  case,  excluded  from  the  range  of  Greek  religious  compre- 
hension ;  and  although  some  of  those  great  searchers  after  truth,  such 
as  Socrates,  obtained  a  very  feeble  and  far-off  glimpse  of  such  an  exist- 
ence, it  was  confined  to  but  a  few  whose  vision  by  the  honest  search 
for  truth  may  be  said  to  have  been  purified.  The  higher  view  of  divine 
agencies  which  was  thus  called  into  existence  by  a  few  of  the  greater 
minds  of  Greece  became  the  property  of  those  who  followed  philosophy, 
rather  than  of  the  orthodox  followers  of  the  national  creed." — St.  Paul 
in  Greece,  Da  vies,  p.  67. 


THE   RELIGION  OF  GREECE.  1 89 

held  your  devotions,  I  found  an  altar  with  this  inscrip- 
tion :   To  the  Unknoivn  God!' 

We  may  search  never  so  closely  into  these  various 
systems,  and  we  shall  nowhere  find  a  definite  creed  as 
to  the  great  truths  of  the  eternal  world,  not  even  an 
answer  to  the  question,  "  If  a  man  die,  shall  he  live 
again  ?"  The  fact  of  personal  responsibility,  which 
lies  at  the  base  of  all  political  and  social  order,  is  pred- 
icated with  an  if.  And  when  a  poor  sinner  comes 
pleading,  "  Who  shall  deliver  me  ?"  the  oracles  are 
dumb. 

The  Maxims  of  the  Seven  Wise  Men. — This,  there- 
fore, was  no  religion  in  any  proper  sense,  for  there  was 
no  uplifting  of  the  soul  to  God.     Let  us  observe  the 
maxims  of  the  Seven  Wise  Men : 
That  of  Solon  was  "  Know  thyself;" 
Chilo,  "  Consider  the  end  ;" 
Thales,  "  Who  hateth  suretyship  is  sure;" 
Bias,  "  Most  men  are  bad  ;" 
Cleobulus,  "  Avoid  extremes  ;" 
Pittacus,  "  Seize  time  by  the  forelock ;" 
Periander,   "  Nothing  is    impossible   to  in- 
dustry." 
In  these  seven  epigrams  was  supposed  to  reside  the 
concentrated  wit  and  wisdom  of  the  various  schools ; 
but,  however  much  of  worldly  sagacity  or  shrewdness 
We  may  discover  in  them,  of  religion  there  is  none. 
The  Morality  of  the  Greeks. — And  there  was  little  or 
no  morality  in  Greece.     Can  a  man  gather  grapes  of 
thorns  or  figs  of  thistles  ?    The  two  ages  of  mythology 
and  philosophy  were  equally  barren  as  to  right  methods 


190      THE   RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

of  life.  Athens  in  the  day  of  her  greatest  prosperity 
and  culture  was  a  city  of  magnificent  vices.  Society 
was  polluted  through  and  through.  Demetrius  says  : 
"  There  was  not  in  Athens,  in  my  time,  one  great  or 
noble  mind."  The  women  were  divided  into  two 
classes,  courtesans  and  drudges.  Divorces  were  so 
frequent  as  to  be  counted  boastfully  by  rings  on  the 
fingers.  Infanticide  was  also  of  common  occurrence, 
and  was  formally  approved  by  Aristotle  and  Plato. 
Indeed,  the  philosophers  themselves,  with  scarcely  an 
exception,  are,  out  of  their  own  mouths,  convicted  of 
beastly  vices  and  uncleannesses.^  The  crime  of  Lesbos 
was  theirs,  insomuch  that  Plutarch,  in  his  treatise  on 
the  education  of  boys,  declares  that  parents  wishing 
their  children  to  be  pure  must  not  allow  them  to  form 
the  acquaintance  of  philosophers.  The  establishment 
of  an  Athenian  gentleman  must  be  furnished  with 
cooks,  jesters  and  a  harem.  "  I  suppose  it  to  be  lit- 
erally true,"  says  Professor  Seelye,  "  that  no  vice  nor 
crime  nor  cruelty  can  be  named  which  did  not  show 
itself  at  home  in  the  highest  circles  of  this  most  bloom- 
ing society  of  the  ancient  world."  ^ 

^  "  *  We  despise,'  says  an  early  Christian  writer,  '.the  supercilious 
looks  of  philosophers,  whom  we  have  known  to  be  the  corrupters  of 
innocence,  adulterers  and  tyrants,  and  eloquent  declaimers  against  vices 
of  which  they  themselves  are  guilty." — Dr.  Killen,  from  Minucius 
Felix, 

"^  "  And  what  shall  we  say  of  Socrates  and  Plato?  There  have  been 
many  who  have  ventured  to  place  Socrates  by  the  side  of  Christ;  and 
Socrates  was  great  and  noble  and  wise,  and  his  death  is  one  of  the  most 
moving  scenes  of  ancient  history.  Let  us  not  breathe  one  word  against 
that  holy  and  high-souled  sage,  but  the  truth  is  dearer  to  us  even  than 
Socrates ;  and  when  we  think  of  Socrates  conversing  with  Theodota 


THE  RELIGION  OF  GREECE.  I9I 

And  why  not  ?  What  shall  we  look  for  in  a  society 
where  right  and  wrong,  duty  and  expediency,  virtue 
and  vice,  are  regarded  as  mere  conventional  terms  ? 

,  or  feasting  with  Agathon, — when  we  remember  the  mingled  leniency 
and  coarseness  with  which  he  spoke  of  the  sins  of  Critias, — when  we 
recall  his  cold  and  almost  impatient  dismissal  of  his  wife  and  children 
at  his  hour  of  approaching  death ;  and  then,  with  bowed  head,  think 
of  Him  who  talked  by  the  well-side  with  the  woman  of  Samaria  or 
stood  alone  by  that  guilty  adulteress  as  she  sobbed  upon  the  temple 
floor, — or  who,  as  he  hung  upon  the  cross  between  the  thieves,  chose 
out  the  tenderest-hearted  of  his  disciples  and  in  the  midst  of  his  an- 
guish said  to  his  mother,  'Woman,  behold  thy  son,^ — then,  indeed,  if  our 
spiritual  sense  be  not  utterly  blunt  and  dead,  we  may  see  how  infinite 
is  the  gulf  which  separates  the  teacher  of  Athens  from  the  Son.  of  God. 
"And  Plato — the  '  divimis  ille  Plato''  oi  Arnobius — the  Plato  of 
whom  Clement  said  that  he  touched  the  very  gates  of  truth — the  Plato 
whom  Jerome  carried  with  him  under  his  hermit  mantle  and  Augustine 
under  his  bishop's  robe — the  Plato  whom  our  own  Coleridge  called  '  a 
plank  from  the  wreck  of  Paradise  cast  upon  the  shores  of  idolatrous 
Greece ' — we  all  know  the  depth  of  his  insight,  the  subtlety  of  his  rea- 
soning, the  splendor  of  his  imagination,  the  magic  of  his  style;  and  yet 
when  we  think  how  overwhelming  would  have  been  the  shock  to  our 
moral  sense,  how  fatal  the  overthrow  of  our  distinctions  between  right 
and  wrong,  had  he  been  accepted  as  the  world's  teacher ;  when  we  place 
the  Fhcedrus  or  the  Symposiatn,  with  all  their  poetic  eloquence  and  all 
the  subtly  dangerous  poison  of  their  perfumed  but  unwholesome  air, 
beside   the  sweet,  pure,  simple  books    of   the    humble  fishermen   of 

.  Galilee, — when  we  compare  his  ideal  republic  with  its  community 
of  women,  its  destruction  of  the  family,  its  degradation  of  the  mul- 
titude, its  exposition  of  children,  its  tolerated  and  worse  than  tolerated 
crimes,  with  the  kingdom  of  heaven  as  preached  by  Christ, — then  must 
we  not  see  in  such  a  comparison,  unless  made  by  way  of  contrast,  I 
will  not  say  a  gross  injustice,  but  I  will  say,  for  so  it  is,  an  unwarrantable 
blasphemy  against  the  simple  truth  ?  Ay,  my  brethren,  the  most  golden 
idol  of  pagan  excellence  stands  but  on  feet  of  clay.  There  is  flagrant 
intellectual  error  in  their  very  wisest ;  there  is  fearful  moral  aberration 
in  their  very  best.  Over  their  graves,  as  in  the  sigh  of  the  wailing  wind, 
we  hear  the  words, '  The  world  by  wisdom  knew  not  God?  " — Farrar's 
Witness^  139-14I. 


192  THE  RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

In  process  of  time  Greece  with  her  gods  and  reasoners 
was  brought  into  contact  with  the  higher  faith.  Look 
at  this  picture  of  Paul  preaching  to  the  newsmongers 
and  philosophers  !  Little  did  they  dream  that  this  man 
of  unimposing  presence,  whom  they  thought  to  be  a 
setter-forth  of  two  strange  gods,  Jesus  and  Anastasis, 
was  preparing  the  way  for  the  ultimate  rending  asunder 
of  their  whole  religious  fabric.^  For  hundreds  of  years 
thereafter  the  two  systems  existed  side  by  side,  but  at 
length  the  thunders  of  Zeus  were  hushed  and  the  colos- 
sal figures  of  the  philosophers  grew  dim  before  the 
brighter  presence  of  the  Man  of  Nazareth,  until,  as 
Goldwin  Smith  has  said,  **  Greece  arose  from  the  dead 
.with  the  New  Testament  in  her  hand."  It  is  a  notable 
fact  that  the  Greeks  received  the  gospel  more  readily 
than  any  other  people.  It  was,  perhaps,  because  they 
needed  it  more.  To  the  wise  among  them  it  seemed 
foolishness,  but  to  those  who  were  weaiy  of  reaching 
forth  the  hand  of  Tantalus  and  of  performing  the  futile 

1  "  From  the  day  that  his  foot  first  touched  their  shores,  and  that  his 
voice  was  first  heard  in  their  cities,  the  religion  that  had  once  held  some 
of  the  greatest  minds  of  ancient  Greece  under  its  influence  was  doomed 
to  pass  away  from  the  minds  of  men  for  ever  except  as  a  harmless  mem- 
ory. It  was  no  mean  task  to  sweep  away  even  the  ruins  of  a  faith 
which  was  so  connected  with  the  glories  of  the  past.  It  was  to  be  still 
the  work  of  centuries  to  remove  them  from  the  soil  where  they  had  so 
long  been  venerated.  In  so  doing  there  was  far  more  to  be  got  rid  of 
than  the  fallen  masses  of  the  building  itself:  there  was  a  close  and  com- 
plicated growth  of  philosophy,  mythology,  national  tradition,  national 
associations,  which  clung  together  in  a  thick,  impenetrable  mass  of  ivy 
and  creeper,  bindweed  and  brier,  wild  flower,  thicket  and  shrub,  amongst 
which  appeared,  half  hidden  and  deep  sunk  into  the  soil,  the  time- 
worn  ruins  of  the  old  Greek  religion." — St.  Paid  in  Greece,  Davies, 

P-57. 


THE  RELIGION  OF  GREECE.  1 93 

task  of  Sisyphus  it  was  the  very  wisdom  and  power 
of  God. 

These  people  had  fed  upon  husks  so  long  that  they 
came  to  the  Father's  table  as  to  a  feast  of  fat  things 
and  wine  upon  the  lees.  No  Bible,  even,  had  been 
theirs,  for  theirs  was  the  only  great  nation  that  had 
no  sacred  books.  Think  of  the  wretchedness  of 
being  without  a  word  from  God !  And  when  they 
prayed,  it  was  as  if  they  cast  their  longings  to  the 
winds.  For  their  gods  took  no  interest  in  their  wel- 
fare, cared  naught  for  their  troubles,  but  dwelt  afar  off 
on  the  Olympian  heights, 

"  haunting 
The  lucid  interspace  of  world  and  world, 
Where  never  creeps  a  cloud  or  moves  a  wind, 
~~^  Nor  ever  falls  the  least  white  star  of  snow, 

Nor  ever  lowest  roll  of  thunder  moans, 
Nor  sound  of  human  sorrow  mounts  to  mar 
Their  sacred  everlasting  calm." 

"  What  shall  I  Do  to  be  Saved T' — This  was  a  religion 
that  could  not  satisfy  the  cravings  of  the  heart.  It 
knew  no  duty  nor  self-denial.  It  put  upon  the  pas- 
sions no  effectual  curb.  It  uttered  no  warning  as  to 
the  future,  and,  with  all  the  gladness  of  its  festivals,  it 
left  the  doorway  of  the  tomb  shrouded  in  unbroken 
night.  And,  above  and  beyond  all,  it  gave  no  answer 
to  the  cry,  "  What  shall  I  do  to  be  saved — saved  from 
sin  and  shame  and  eternal  death  ?" 

It  was  indeed  a  preparation  for  better  things  in  that 
it  awakened  a  sense  of  utter  guilt  and  helplessness. 
The  moral  poverty  and  wretchedness   of  the  whole 

13 


194      THE   RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

nation  found  a  voice  on  the  lips  of  those  Greeks  who 
went  up  to  Jerusalem  at  the  time  of  the  Passover  say- 
ing, *'  We  would  see  Jesus." 

What,  then,  is  our  lesson  ?  Philosophy  cannot  save. 
The  world  by  wisdom  knew  not  God.  And  culture 
cannot  save.  At  the  very  moment  when  Zeuxis  was 
painting  the  walls  of  Athens  with  a  beauty  which  mod- 
ern art  has  sought  in  vain  to  imitate — when  Socrates 
w^as  theorizing  about  virtue — the  social  life  of  Greece 
stank  with  rottenness.  And  the  gods  went  on  feasting. 
How  weird  is  the  lament  of  lo ! — 

"Eleleu!  Eleleu! 
How  the  spasm  and  the  pain, 
And  the  fire  on  my  brain 

Strike  burning  through  ! — 
How  my  heart  in  its  terror  is  spuming  my  breast ! 
And  my  words  beat  in  vain,  in  wild  storms  of  unrest, 

On  the  sea  of  desolate  fate  !" 

It  was  Prometheus  chained  to  the  rock  ;  it  was  Ixion 
on  the  wheel ;  it  was  Tantalus  in  hell. 

We  hear  it  asserted  in  some  quarters  that  natural 
religion  is  enough  for  the  soul.  It  were  a  sufficient 
answer  to  point  backward  to  the  bewildered  and  de- 
spairing Greeks.  They  had  all  that  nature  could  sug- 
gest or  the  human  intellect  devise,  and  yet  they  were 
without  God  and  without  hope.  They  searched  for 
truth  as  blind  men  groping  for  the  wall.  Verily,  the 
world  by  its  own  wisdom  knoweth  not  God.  A  recent 
writer  (Dr.  Milligan  of  the  University  of  Aberdeen) 
says :  "  Never  had  the  thought  of  the  natural  dignity 
of  man  and  the  sacredness  of  human  feelings  a  better 


THE  RELIGION  OF  GREECE.  1 95 

opportunity  to  show  what  they  can  do  for  humanity 
than  they  had  in  Greece.  The  result  was  disastrous, 
humihating,  melancholy  failure.  A  corruption  was 
nourished  in  the  Greek  world  which  gradually  sap- 
ped the  foundations  of  its  life.  ...  It  has  been  said 
by  an  eloquent  writer  of  the  day  that  what  concerns 
us  at  the  present  time  is  to  learn  how  to  face  the  prob- 
lems of  the  world  with  Greek  serenity.  If  we  have 
nothing  more  to  face  them  with,  we  shall  sink  before 
them  as  Greece  did.  The  great  question  is,  Where  is 
that  divine  life  to  be  found  which  faces  all  problems 
without  sinking?  Is  it  to  be  found  in  nature  or  in 
Christ  ?  Greece  answers  that  question.  She  sought  it 
and  found  it  in  nature ;  and  she  perished.  The  search 
for  the  divine  in  nature  alone  led  to  self-abasement,  and 

*  Self-abasement  paved  the  way 
To  villain  bonds  and  despot  sway.'  " 

We  turn  from  the  coldness  and  barrenness  of  nature- 
worship  on  the  one  hand  and  philosophy  on  the  other 
— from  dumb,  sightless  gods  and  impotent  dreamers 
all — to  the  gospel  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ.  Here  is  a  God  whose  eyes  run  to  and  fro 
through  all  the  earth,  and  whose  ears  are  attentive 
to  the  cry  of  the  least  of  his  little  ones.  His  name 
is  Love.  God-love  was  never  dreamed  of  in  Greek 
philosophy,  but  here  it  glows  as  tender  and  beautiful 
as  that  of  a  mother  bending  over  her  sleeping  child. 
"  God  so  loved  the  world."  Blessed  be  his  name ! 
And  there  is  a  sunlit  path  leading  into  his  very  pres- 


196  THE  RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

ence — the  royal  way  of  the  cross,  the  path  for  you 
and  me.^ 

^  "  Yes,  it  was  of  God,  and  they  could  not  overthrow  it ;  the  catacomb 
triumphed  over  the  Grecian  temple ;  the  cross  of  shame  over  the  wine- 
cup  and  the  Salian  banquet,  the  song  of  the  siren  and  the  wreath  of 
rose. 

"  These  obscure  sectaries — barbarians.  Orientals,  Jews  as  they  were — 
fought  against  the  indignant  world  and  won.  '  Not  by  power,  nor  by 
might,  but  by  my  Spirit,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts  ' — by  heroic  endurance, 
by  stainless  innocence,  by  burning  zeal,  by  inviolable  truthfulness,  by 
boundless  love.  The  world's  seductive  ideals  and  intoxicating  joys,  the 
world's  enchanting  mythologies  and  dissolute  religions — young  Dionysus, 

*  As  he  burst  upon  the  East 
A  jocund  and  a  welcome  conqueror. 
And  Aphrodite,  sweet  as  from  the  sea 
She  rose  and  floated  in  her  pearly  shell, 
A  laughing  girl,' 

all  fled  before  a  cross  of  wood  !  Yes,  my  brethren,  because  that  cross 
was  held  by  the  bleeding  hands  of  the  world's  true  King,  who  perfected 
the  strength  of  his  followers  in  weakness,  and,  having  been  lifted  up, 
drew  all  men  unto  him." — Farrar's  Witness^  pp.  106-108. 


VII. 

THE  RELIGION  OF  THE 

NORSEMEN. 


I.  Sacred  Books  :  The  Two  Eddas. 
II.   Theology  : 

(i)  The  Gods; 

Odin,  the  All-Father. 
The  Twelve  Ms\x : 

Thor,  Heimdall, 

Baldur,  Hodur, 

Njord,  Vidar, 

Frey,  Vah, 

Tyr.  Ullur. 

Bragi,  Forseti. 

Loki. 

Minor  Powers. 

(2)  The  Creation. 

(3)  The  Future : 

Ragnarok. 
Heaven  and  Hell. 

III.  Forms  of  Worship, 

IV.  Morals. 

Central  Thought:  Courage. 
"  What  shall  I  do  to  be  saved  f     Fight  a  good  fight. 


VII.  NORSE  MYTHOLOGY. 

The  Norsemen. — The  fair-haired  Norsemen  came  orig- 
inally from  Bactria  in  Central  Asia,  the  prolific  mother- 
land of  nations.  The  memory  of  the  warm  suns  and 
blooming  hills  of  that  country  must  have  been  to 
them,  dwelling  among  the  rigors  of  Scandinavia, 
like  the  thgught  of  a  lost  heaven.  The  time  came 
at  length  when,  weary  of  interminable  winter  and  twi- 
light, they  sent  forth  their  vikings,  fearless  sea-rovers, 
in  search  of  a  more  propitious  home.  These  vikings 
found  their  way  to  Britain,  conquered  and  possessed  it, 
and  became  the  forefathers  of  out  Anglo-Saxon  race. 

I.  Sacred  Literature. — Our  knowledge  of  the  Norse 
mythology  is  chiefly  derived  from  the  Eddas.  For  the 
survival  of  these  sacred  books  we  are  indebted,  strange 
to  tell,  not  to  Scandinavia,  but  to  the  people  of  another 
and  far-distant  land.  On  the  introduction  of  Christianity 
into  Northern  Europe  pains  were  taken  to  obliterate, 
as  far  as  possible,  all  traces  of  the  primitive  faith :  not 
only  were  temples  and  altars  destroyed,  but  the  people 
were  required  to  disuse  their  sacred  traditions.  In  thg 
mean  time,  however,  a  hardy  company  of  Norsemen  had 
sailed  away  to  Iceland,  taking  their  religion  with  them, 
and  amid  the  frozen  fields  and  geysers  and  volcanoes  of 
that  desolate  corner  of  the  earth — a  land  not  unfitted 

199 


200  THE   RELIGIONS  OF  THE    WORLD. 

to  be  the  final  refuge  of  a  religion  of  warring  gods  and 
giants — it  was  preserved  for  the  coming  ages. 

In  Longfellow's  Tales  of  a  Wayside  Inn  a  blue-eyed 
Saxon  refers  to  the  Eddas  as 

"  a  wondrous  book 
Of  legends,  in  the  old  Norse  tongue. 

Of  the  dead  kings  of  Norroway — 
Legends  that  once  were  told  or  sung. 

In  many  a  smoky  fireside  nook 
Of  Iceland  in  the  ancient  day, 

By  wandering  Saga-man." 

The  name  Edda  means  "  great-grandmother,"  the 
reference  being,  probably,  to  the  manner  in  which 
these  tales  were  transmitted,  unwritten,  from  lip  to  lip 
by  the  dames  of  the  olden  time.  The  book  is  in  two 
volumes.  The  Elder  Edda  consists  of  thirty-seven  an- 
cient poems,  mythical  and  legendary,  collected  and  put 
forth  in  their  present  form  by  Ssemund,  a  Christian 
priest  of  the  eleventh  century.  It  opens  with  the 
"  Voluspa,  or  Wisdom  of  Vala,"  which  purports  to 
be  a  description  of  the  universe  before  the  inaugura- 
tion of  the  present  order  of  things.     It  begins  thus  : 

"  I  claim  the  devout  attention  of  all  noble  ones. 
The  lofty  and  lowly  of  the  Heimdall  race ; 
I  tell  the  works  of  the  All-Father 
As  related  in  the  most  ancient  sagas. 

"  I  tell  of  the  age  of  Ymer, 
When  there  was  neither  sea,  nor  shore,  nor  briny  wave, 
No  earth  below  nor  heaven  above, 
Nor  yawning  chasm,  nor  verdant  plain." 

One  of  the  poems  of  the  Elder  Edda,  called  "  The 
Havamal,"  consists  of  a  hundred  and  ten  quatrains 


NORSE  MYTHOLOGY.  201 

of  proverbial  philosophy.      The  following  will  serve 
as  illustrations : 

"  Carefully  consider  the  end 
Before  you  undertake  anything; 
For  all  is  uncertain  when  the  foe 
Lies  in  wait  in  the  house. 

"  The  guest  on  entering 
Needs  water,  a  towel  and  entertainment ; 
A  kind  reception  secures  a  return 
In  word  and  deed. 

"  A  man  cannot  journey  with  a  worse  friend 
Than  drunkenness ; 
Not  so  beneficent  as  many  believe 
Is  beer  to  the  children  of  men ; 
The  more  one  drinks,  the  less  he  knows, 
And  the  less  power  he  has  over  himself. 

**  A  man's  own  house,  though  small,  is  best; 
At  home  thou  art  master ; 
Two  goats  and  a  thatched  roof 
Are  better  than  beggary. 

*'  Is  there  one  whom  you  distrust, 
And  who  yet  can  help  you  ? 
Be  smooth  in  words  and  false  in  thought, 
And  pay  back  his  deceit  with  cunning. 

"  I  hung  my  clothes  on  two  scarecrows, 
And  when  dressed  they  seemed 
Ready  for  battle ; 
Unclothed,  they  were  derided  by  all. 

-'  It  is  well  to  be  wise,  not  well 
To  be  too  wise ; 
He  has  the  happiest  life 
Who  knows  well  what  he  knows."  ^ 

Another  of  the  poems  of  the  Elder  Edda  is  "  The 

1  Clarke. 


202  THE  RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

Song  of  Runes."  The  Norsemen  believed  that  cer- 
tain combinations  of  the  letters  of  the  alphabet  pos- 
sessed a  magical  virtue  ;  such  combinations  were  called 
runes.  It  was  customary  for  warriors  to  write  runic 
rhymes  on  their  sword-blades ;  lovers  carved  them  on 
their  drinking-horns,  sailors  on  the  masts  and  rudders 
of  their  ships,  leeches  on  the  bark  of  sacred  trees. 

The  remainder  of  the  Elder  Edda  is  made  up  of 
wonderful  tales  of  the  adventures  of  heroes.  In  these 
the  Norsemen  found  inspiration  for  their  audacious 
deeds  by  land  and  sea. 

Tlie  Younger  Edda  is  a  prose  compendium  of  myth- 
ology. It  was  arranged  and  put  forth  in  the  early  part 
of  the  twelfth  century  by  Snorro  Thurleson  of  Iceland. 
The  sources  of  his  information  were  old  songs  and  bal- 
lads and  "  ancient  family  registers  containing  the  pedi- 
grees of  kings."  It  is  from  this  Younger  Edda  that  we 
chiefly  deriv^e  our  knowledge  of  the  Norse  religion. 

II.  Tlieology. — (i)  TJie  Gods. — There  is  good  reason 
to  believe  that  the  faith  of  the  Norsemen  was  originally 
monotheistic.  They  bowed  in  worship  before  One 
whom  they  believed  to  be  '*  the  Author  of  everything 
that  exists,  the  Eternal,  the  Ancient,  the  living  and 
awful  Being,  the  Searcher  who  concealeth  things,  the 
Being  that  never  changes ;"  One  who,  as  Dr.  Burns 
says,  '*  possessed  infinite  power,  boundless  knowledge 
and  inflexible  justice — who  was  not  to  be  worshiped 
in  temples  reared  by  human  hands,  but  in  consecrated 
groves  and  in  the  solitudes  of  the  forest.  It  was  for- 
bidden to  represent  him  by  any  image.  He  was  the 
great,  invisible  Spirit  who  pervaded  the  universe,  too 


NORSE  MYTHOLOGY.  203 

awful  even  to  be  named — who  was  to  be  served  with 
sacrifices  and  prayers,  and  who  delighted  in  seeing 
men  lead  pure  and  brave  lives." 

We  find  among  the  wonderful  tales  of  the  Younger 
Edda  the  adventures  of  Gylfi,  who  visited  Asgard,  the 
home  of  the  ^sir  or  Norse  gods.  He  is  said  to  have 
seen  there. a  triple  throne  whereon  sat  Har  "the  high 
one,"  Jafnhar  "  the  high  one's  fellow,"  and  Thridi  "  the 
third  one."  To  these  the  doughty  explorer  was  allowed 
to  propound  certain  questions. 

"  Who,"  he  asked,  "  is  the  first  and  eldest  of  the 
gods  ?" 

And  Har  answered :  "  In  our  language  he  is  called 
Al-Fadir;"  that  is,  the  Father  of  all. 

"  Where,"  asked  Gylfi  again,  "  is  the  dwelling-place 
of  this  Supreme  One,  and  what  is  his  power,  and  what 
hath  he  done  to  display  his  glory  ?" 

Har  answered,  "  He  liveth  from  all  ages,  gov- 
erneth  all  realms  and  swayeth  all  things  great  and 
small." 

To  which  Jafnhar  added,  "  He  formed  heaven  and 
earth  and  the  air,  and  all  things  belonging  thereto." 

Thridi  continued  :  "  He  also  made  man,  and  gave 
him  a  soul  that  shall  never  perish,  though  his  body 
moulder  away  or  be  reduced  to  dust." 

Polytheism. — Thus  it  appears  that  the  Norsemen  were 
not  without  some  sort  of  belief  in  an  infinite  One. 
But,  however  this  One  may  have  stood  forth  in  the 
foreground  of  their  original  faith,  it  is  certain  that  as 
time  passed  on  he  was  practically  lost  sight  of  in  a  mul- 
tiplicity of  gods.      The  writer   from  whom  we  have 


204  ^-^^^  RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

already  quoted*  says :  "  Monotheism  could  not  long 
satisfy  a  rude  and  fierce  people,  many  of  them  living 
in  countries  remarkable  for  wild  grandeur  of  scenery 
and  subject  to  sudden  and  extreme  climatic  changes, 
involving  great  and  striking  elemental  disturbances — 
most  of  them  in  a  state  of  almost  perpetual  war. 
Nature  by  her  changeful  moods  suggested  the  pres- 
ence of  more  gods  than  one ;  their  own  experience, 
sometimes  as  victors,  sometimes  as  vanquished,  did 
the  same.  Rude  minds  never  discover  the  unity  of 
nature,  and  are  quite  unable  to  trace  the  endless  variety 
of  phenomena  which  meets  them  to  the  action  of  never- 
varying  law."  ^ 

Natiire-'worship. — So  it  came  about  that  while  the 
dim  image  of  the  true  God  was  at  the  centre  of  this 
religion,  its  form  to  the  casual  glance  and  in  popular 
practice  was  distinctly  polytheistic.  Its  gods  were  the 
personified  powers  and  phenomena  of  nature.^     Let  us 

^  Dr.  Burns,  in  Faiths  of  the  World. 

^  I  doubt  if  this  can  be  laid  down  as  a  general  proposition.  The  op- 
posite seems  to  be  taught  in  Rom.  i  :  19,  20.  There  is  always  a  pos- 
sibility of  finding  the  One,  though  the  natural  tendency  of  the  mind  is 
away  from  him. 

'  James  Freeman  Clarke  takes  a  different  view.  He  says :  "  The 
gods  are  idealizations  of  human  will  set  over  against  the  powers  of 
nature.  The  battle  of  the  gods  and  giants  represents  the  struggle  of 
the  soul  against  the  inexorable  laws  of  nature,  freedom  against  fate,  the 
spirit  with  the  flesh,  mind  with  matter,  human  hope  with  change,  dis- 
appointment, loss ;  'the  emergency  of  the  case  with  the  despotism  of  the 
ruler.'  " 

In  the  opinion  of  others  the  Norse  gods  are  deified  heroes.  Odin  is 
said  to  have  been  an  adventurer  from  a  town  called  Asgard,  who,  serv- 
ing in  the  army  of  Mithridates,  in  defeat  fled  to  the  forests  of  Scythia, 
where  he  collected  a  band  of   desperadoes  and  with  them  invaded 


NOJ^SE  MYTHOLOGY.  205 

be  mindful  of  the  rugged  birthplace  of  this  religion, 
where  sun  and  frost  and  tempest  and  subterranean  fire 
were  engaged  in  a  perpetual  struggle  for  mastery.  Left 
to  themselves,  was  it  not  inevitable  that  the  inhabitants 
of  that  land  should  deify  these  titanic  forces  ?  They 
dwelt  in  gloomy  solitudes  and  along  the  edge  of  moun- 
tain-heights that  overlooked  an  icy  and  tempestuous 
ocean.  "  The  Eddas  tell  us  of  a  marriage  between  a 
god  of  the  sea  and  a  daughter  of  the  hills.  Each 
uttered  a  complaint  of  the  other's  home : 

*  Of  mountains  I  weary,'  said  he : 

*  Not  long  was  I  there — 
Nine  nights  only — 

But  the  howl  of  the  wolf 

To  my  ears  sounded  ill 

By  the  song  of  the  sea-bird.' 

The  hill-goddess  answers : 

*  I  could  not  sleep 

In  my  bed  by  the  shore ; 
For  the  scream  of  the  wild  birds, 
The  sea-mews,  who  came 
From  the  woods  flying, 
Awoke  me  each  morning.' 

The  child  of  this  union  between  the  mountain  and  the 

sea  was  the  religion  of  the  Teutonic  race ;  beside  the 

howl  of  the  wolf  and  the  scream  of  the  sea-mew  it 

struggled  into  life."  ^ 

Here  we  have,  therefore,  as  we  should  expect,  the 

most  romantic  of  the  great  religions,  sending  forth  its 

Northern  Europe :   he  placed  his  sons  upon  the  thrones  of  the  con- 
quered, and  died  in  Sweden,  B.  C.  40. 
^  Keary,  Outlines  of  Primitive  Belief. 


206      THE   RELIGIONS  OF  THE    WORLD. 

stalwart  gods  to  traverse  the  earth  in  ten-league  boots, 
to  shake  the  hills  with  thunderous  voice  and  wither 
the  verdant  forests  with  a  glance ;  abounding  also  in 
wonder-tales  of  the  adventures  of  supernatural  vikings, 
and  in  milder  folk-lore  which  has  furnished  half  the 
world  with  its  nursery-rhymes.  To  the  Norseman  all 
mysterious  things  were  supernatural,  and  the  easy  way 
to  solve  all  questions  in  the  supernatural  realm  was 
to  conjure  up  a  giant  or  a  god.  As  has  been  well 
said  by  an  eloquent  writer :  "  The  thunder  was  the 
rattle  of  Thor's  chariot,  the  lightning  the  flash  of  his 
hammer  swiftly  hurled  from  his  strong  hand ;  the  wind 
was  Sleipnir,  the  fleet  steed  of  Odin  ;  the  dew  was  foam 
from  the  bit  of  the  horse  of  Night.  When  the  hard 
winter-crust  of  earth  began  to  thaw  it  was  Rind  yield- 
ing to  the  rough  wooing  of  her  persistent  lover.  When 
in  spring  the  early  flowers  bloomed  and  the  first  braird 
was  seen,  it  was  Gerd  cajoled  by  Skernia  to  listen  to 
the  addresses  of  Frey.  As  the  yearly  wave  of  verdure 
washed  up  the  hillside,  and  the  herdsman  drove  his 
cattle  from  the  lowland  meadows  to  the  green  uplands, 
Sif  was  beside  him  with  her  yellow  hair.  As  the  farmer 
looked  at  his  fields  covered  with  rich  grain,  he  blessed 
the  nuptials  of  Odin  and  Frigg.  The  fisherman  row- 
ing his  boat  through  the  dancing  waves  saw  in  each 
of  them  a  daughter  of  CEger,  and,  listening  on  shore 
to  the  loud  tumult  of  the  angry  sea,  he  heard  the  wrath- 
ful clamor  of  these  fickle  maidens.  The  huntsman  was 
haunted  by  a  divine  presence  in  the  silent  deeps  of  the 
forest ;  the  child  as  he  looked  upon  the  rainbow  was 
told  by  his  mother  that  that  was  the  trembling  bridge 


NOESE  MYTHOLOGY.  20/ 

by  which  the  gods  crossed  from  heaven  to  earth.  When 
the  long  days  of  summer  were  over  and  winter  with  its 
darkness  and  cold  had  come,  the  sad  tale  of  the  bright 
and  good  Baldur  was  doubtless  told  at  many  a  fireside, 
and  many  a  tear  shed  over  the  unhappy  fate  of  that 
best  beloved  of  the  gods."  ^ 

The  Twelve  ^sir. — There  were  twelve  ^sir,  or  great 
gods,  who  dwelt  in  Asgard  in  palaces  of  gold. 

Odin,  the  All-Father. — The  father  of  the  twelve  was 
Odin,  the  Al-Fadir,  of  whom  it  is  written  in  the  Younger 
Edda,  "  He  governs  all  things,  and,  although  the  other 
deities  are  powerful,  they  all  serve  and  obey  him  as 
children  do  their  father."  On  account  of  this  relation 
it  is  customary  to  speak  of  the  Norse  deities  as  "  the 
Odinic  gods."  Odin  is,  in  fact,  a  deification  of  the  over- 
arching canopy  of  heaven.  He  is  represented  as  a 
venerable,  one-eyed  man,  wearing  a  blue  mantle  and  a 
broad-brimmed  hat. 

"  Then  into  the  Volsung  dwelling  a  mighty  man  there  strode, 
One-eyed  and  seeming  ancient,  yet  bright  his  visage  glowed ; 
Cloud-blue  was  the  hood  upon  him,  and  his  kirtle  gleaming  gray 
As  the  latter-morning  sun-dog  when  the  storai  is  on  the  way." 

His  arm  is  encircled  with  a  ring  from  which  other  rings 
are  ever  uncoiling  themselves  and  dropping  earthward. 
On  his  shoulders  are  perched  two  ravens,  and  at  his 
feet  crouch  two  ravening  wolves.  In  his  right  hand 
he  carries  an  all-conquering  spear.  The  mantle  is  sym- 
bolical of  cloud  and  tempest.  The  broad  hat — the  tarn- 
kappe  of  the   Niebelungen   lay — signifies  twih'ght   or 

^  The  Faiths  of  the  World. 


208      THE  RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

concealment.  The  prolific  ring  means  fruitfulness. 
The  two  ravens  are  Reflection  and  Memory,  who,  fly- 
ing to  and  fro,  keep  the  god  mindful  of  all  things  in 
heaven  and  earth.  The  one  eye  denotes  the  gift  of 
prophecy,  which  belongs  to  Odin  alone.  It  is  related 
that  he  was  compelled  to  throw  his  other  eye  into  the 
water  in  order  to  secure  the  right  of  access  to  the  well 
of  wisdom ;  which  is  only  a  poetic  way  of  saying  that 
the  sun,  the  eye  of  heaven,  sinks  into  the  ocean  at 
close  of  day.  Odin,  as  his  name  Al-Fadir  indicates, 
was  regarded  as  the  universal  benefactor,  the  giver  of 
every  good  and  perfect  gift: 

"  He  gives  and  grants 
Gold  to  the  deserving; 
He  gave  Hermond 
A  helm  and  corslet, 
And  from  him  Sigmund 
A  sword  received. 
Victory  to  his  sons  he  gives ; 
But  to  some  riches, 
Eloquence  to  the  great, 
And  to  men  wit. 
Fair  winds  he  gives  to  traders, 
But  visions  to  skalds. 
Valor  he  gives 
To  many  a  warrior." 

(i)  Thor. — The  mightiest  of  the  twelve  ^sir  was 
Thor,  the  god  of  thunder,  of  whom  it  was  said,  *'  He 
is  the  strongest  of  gods  and  men."  He  dwelt  in  a 
splendid  mansion  called  Bilskirnir. 

"  Five  hundred  halls 
And  forty  more, 


NORSE  MYTHOLOGY.  2O9 

Methinketh,  hath 
Bowed  Bilskirnir. 
'I  am  the  god  Thor; 
I  am  the  war-god, 
I  am  the  Thunderer ! 
Here  in  my  Northland, 
My  fastness  and  fortress, 
Reign  I  for  ever.'  " 

This  god  was  possessed  of  three  precious  things : 
the  hammer  Mjolnir,  with  which  he  wrought  many 
wonderful  deeds  ;^  the  belt  Mejingjardir,  which,  girded 

1  "  The  giant  Thiymr  once  stole  this  hammer,  and  Loki  was  sent  to 
find  where  he  had  hidden  it.  It  had  been  buried  deep  in  the  ground, 
and  Thiymr  would  restore  it  only  on  condition  that  the  ^Esir  should 
give  him  the  beautiful  Freyja  to  wife.  But  at  such  a  proposal  the  god- 
dess waxed  wroth,  and  would  in  no  wise  consent  to  it.  So  the  gods 
took  counsel,  and  by  the  advice  of  Heimdall,  one  of  the  ^Esir,  they 
devised  a  plan  by  which  the  giant  could  be  cheated.  The  thunder-god 
dressed  himself  in  Freyja's  weeds  :  he  adorned  himself  with  her  neck- 
lace— the  famed  Brisinga  necklace  ;  he  let  from  his  side  keys  rattle,  and 
set  a  comely  coif  upon  his  head.  Then  he  went  to  Jotunheim  as  though 
he  were  the  bride  ;  Loki  went  with  him  as  his  serving-maid.  The  god 
could  scarcely  avoid  raising  some  suspicions  by  his  unwomanly  be- 
havior; he  alone  devoured  an  ox,  eight  salmon  and  all  the  sweetmeats 
women  love,  and  he  drank  three  salds  of  mead.  Thrymr  exclaimed 
with  wonder, 

'  Who  ever  a  bride  saw  sup  so  greedily  ? 
Never  a  bride  saw  I  sup  so  gi-eedily. 
Nor  a  maid  drink  such  measures  of  mead.' 

Sat  the  all- cunning  servant-maid  by, 
Ready  her  answer  to  the  giant  to  give : 
*  Naught  has  Freyja  eaten  for  eight  nights, 
So  eager  was  she  for  Jotunheim.' 

'Neath  the  linen  hood  he  looked,  a  kiss  craving 
But  sprang  back  in  terror  across  the  hall : 
14 


210      THE   RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

about  his  loins,  redoubled  his  strength ;  and  a  pair 
of  iron  gauntlets,  without  which  it  was  impossible  for 
him  to  grasp  his  hammer  or  tighten  his  belt. 

He  was  represented  as  a  young  man  with  a  luxuriant 
red  beard.  When  it  thundered  the  Norsemen  were 
accustomed  to  say,  "  Thor  is  blowing  through  his 
beard."  He  was  a  benignant  god,  whose  special 
office  was  to  bring  the  opposing  forces  of  nature 
under  subjection  to  men.     There   is    no   end  of  the 

*  How  fearfully  flaming  are  Freyja's  eyes! 
Their  glance  burnetii  like  a  brand.' 

There  sat  the  all-cunning  servant-maid  by, 
Ready  with  words  the  giant  to  answer : 

*  For  eight  nights  she  did  naught  of  sleep  enjoy, 
So  eager  was  she  for  Jotunheim.' 

In  stepped  the  giant's  fearful  sister ; 
For  a  bride's  gift  she  dared  to  ask  : 

*  Give  me  from  thy  hand  red  rings 
If  thou  wilt  gain  my  love. 

My  love  and  favor.' 

Then  spake  Thrymr,  the  giants'  prince: 

*  The  hammer  bear  in,  the  bride  to  consecrate; 
Lay  Mjolnir  on  the  maiden's  knee 

And  unite  us  mutually  in  marriage-bonds.' 

Laushed  Thor's  heart  in  his  breast 
"When  the  fierce-hearted  his  hammer  knew. 
Thrymr  first  slew  he,  the  thursar's  lord. 
And  the  race  of  jotuns  all  destroyed. 

He  slew  the  ancient  jotun  sister, 
Who  for  a  bride's  gift  had  dared  to  ask ; 
Hard  blows  she  got  instead  of  skillings. 
And  the  hammer's  weight  in  place  of  rings." 

—  Outlines  of  Primiiive  Belief,  p.  355* 


NORSE  MYTHOLOGY.  211 

wonderful  tales  of  his  feats  of  strength/     "  His  ham- 
mer broke  the  skull  of  the  frost-giant,  and  freed  earth 

1  The  following,  by  way  of  illustration,  is  a  histor)'  of  the  journey- 
ings  of  Thor  to  Jotunheim  : 

"  The  god  set  out  with  the  intention  of  discovering  a  certain  giant, 
Utgardloki,  who  was  especially  powerful  and  especially  the  enemy  of 
the  gods.  In  truth,  he  was  a  sort  of  king  of  the  under  world,  and 
Thor's  journey  to  his  hall  is  comparable  to  the  descent  of  Heracles  to 
the  realm  of  Hades.  After  some  travel  the  god  arrived  at  the  shore 
of  a  wide  and  deep  sea.  On  the  sea  stood  the  bark  of  the  ferryman, 
the  Northern  Charon,  Harbard  by  name : 

*  Steer  hitherward  thy  bark ; 
I  will  show  thee  the  strand. 
But  who  owns  the  skiff 
That  by  the  shore  thou  rowest  ?' 

*'  Thor  was  on  this  occasion  traveling  with  Loki  and  two  mortals, 
his  servants,  called  Thialfi  and  Roska.  They  crossed  the  wide,  deep 
sea  and  entered  a  boundless  forest.  No  sooner  had  Thor  and  his  com- 
rades thus  got  well  into  Jotunheim  than  they  began  to  fall  victims  to  its 
spells  and  enchantments ;  and  the  glamour  increased  the  farther  they 
went,  till  at  last  their  adventure  ended  only  in  a  disastrous  defeat. 
They  came  to  what  they  took  for  a  hall  with  wide  entrance,  having 
one  small  chamber  at  the  side;  and  while  resting  they  were  disturbed 
by  a  noise  like  an  earthquake,  which  made  all  but  Thor  run  into  the 
chamber  to  hide  themselves.  In  the  morning  an  immense  man,  who 
had  been  sleeping  on  the  ground  hard  by,  and  whose  snoring  it  was 
that  had  so  frightened  all,  arose,  and  presently  lifted  up  that  which  they 
had  fancied  was  a  hall,  and  which  now  proved  to  be  his  glove.  Then 
Thor  and  his  companions  and  the  giant,  who  was  named  Skrymir,  con- 
tinued their  journey  together.  But  in  the  night  Thor,  thinking  to  kill 
Skr)'mir,  hurled  against  the  giant's  head  his  death-dealing  hammer, 
Mjolnir,  the  force  of  which  none,  it  was  thought,  could  resist.  Yet, 
behold  !  Skrymir  only  asked  if  a  leaf  had  fallen  upon  him  as  he  slept. 
A  second  time  the  god  raised  his  hammer  and  smote  the  giant  with 
such  force  that  he  could  see  the  weapon  sticking  in  his  forehead. 
Thereupon  Skrymir  awoke  and  said,  '  What  is  it  ?  Did  an  acorn  fall 
upon  my  head  ?  How  is  it  with  you,  Thor  ?'  Thor  stept  quickly  back 
and  answered  that  he  had  just  awakened,  and  that  it  was  midnight  and 


212  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

from  the  bondage  of  winter,  ground  rocks  and  stones 
into  powder  and  turned  them  into  fruitful  earth.     He 

there  were  still  many  hours  for  sleep.  Presently  he  struck  a  third  time, 
with  such  force  that  the  hammer  sank  into  the  giant's  cheek  up  to  the 
handle.  Then  Skrymir  rose  up  and  stroked  his  cheek,  saying,  *  Are 
there  birds  in  this  tree  ?  It  seems  to  me  as  if  one  of  them  had  sent 
some  moss  down  on  my  face.' 

"  Anon  Thor  and  his  companions  came  to  the  city  of  the  giant 
Utgardloki,  in  whose  hall  and  among  the  company  of  giants  feats 
of  strength  were  performed  to  match  the  newcomers  against  the  men 
of  that  place.  First,  Loki  vaunted  his  skill  in  eating,  and  was  matched 
against  Logi  (Fire).  A  trough  was  placed  between  them,  and  after 
each  had  seemed  to  eat  voraciously  they  met  just  in  the  middle.  But 
it  was  found  that  Loki  had  eaten  the  flesh  only,  whereas  Logi  had 
devoured  the  bones  and  the  wood  of  the  trough  as  well.  Then,  again, 
Thialfi  stood  to  run  a  race  with  any  one,  and  was  set  to  try  his  speed 
against  Hug  (Thought),  who  in  three  courses  vanquished  him  utterly. 
And  now  the  turn  came  to  Thor.  First,  he  was  challenged  to  drain  a 
horn,  '  which,'  said  Utgardloki,  '  a  strong  man  can  finish  in  a  draught, 
but  the  weakest  can  empty  in  three.'  Thor  made  three  pulls  at  the 
beaker,  but  at  the  end  of  the  third  had  scarce  laid  bare  more  than  the 
brim.  The  next  trial  was  to  raise  a  cat  from  the  ground.  *  We  have 
a  very  trifling  game  here,'  said  the  giant,  '  in  which  we  exercise  none 
but  children.  It  consists  in  merely  lifting  my  cat  from  the  ground ;  nor 
should  I  have  dared  to  mention  it  to  thee,  Thor,  but  that  I  have  already 
seen  thou  art  not  the  man  we  took  thee  for.'  As  he  finished  speaking 
a  large  gray  cat  leapt  upon  the  floor.  Thor  advanced  and  laid  his  hand 
beneath  the  cat's  belly  and  did  his  best  to  lift  him  from  the  ground ; 
but  he  bent  his  back,  and,  despite  all  Thor's  exertions,  had  but  one  foot 
raised  up ;  and  when  Thor  saw  this  he  made  no  further  trial. 

" '  The  trial,'  said  the  giant,  *  has  turned  out  as  I  expected.  The  cat 
is  biggish  and  Thor  is  short  and  small  beside  our  men.'  Then  spake 
Thor, '  Small  as  ye  call  me,  let  any  one  come  near  and  wrestle  with  me, 
now  I  am  in  wrath.'  Utgardloki  looked  round  at  the  benches  and  an- 
swered, '  I  see  no  man  in  here  who  would  not  esteem  it  child's  play  to 
wrestle  with  thee.  But  I  bethink  me,'  he  continued:  'there  is  the  old 
woman  now  calling  me,  my  nurse  Elli  (Age).  With  her  let  Thor 
wrestle  if  he  will.'  Thereupon  came  an  old  dame  into  the  hall,  and 
to  her  Utgardloki  signified  that  she  was  to  match  herself  against  Thor. 


NORSE  MYTHOLOGY.  21 3 

drove  past  in  his  chariot,  and  sent  the  pleasant  show- 
ers which  refreshed  the  parched  field  and  made  the 

We  will  not  lengthen  out  the  tale.  The  result  of  the  contest  was  that 
the  harder  Thor  strove  the  firmer  she  stood.  And  now  the  old  crone 
began  to  make  her  set  at  Thor.  He  had  one  foot  loosened,  and  a  still 
harder  struggle  followed  ;j3ut  it  did  not  last  long,  for  Thor  was  brought 
down  on  one  knee.  .  .  . 

"The  next  morning,  at  daybreak,  Thor  arose  with  his  following;  they 
dressed  and  prepared  to  go  their  ways.  Then  came  Utgardloki,  and 
had  a  meal  set  before  them  in  which  was  no  lack  of  good  fare  to  eat 
and  to  drink.  And  when  they  had  done  their  meal  they  took  their  road 
homeward.  Utgardloki  accompanied  them  to  the  outside  of  the  town, 
and  at  parting  he  asked  Thor  whether  he  was  satisfied  with  his  journey, 
and  if  he  had  found  any  one  more  mighty  than  himself.  Thor  could 
not  deny  that  the  event  had  been  little  to  his  honor.  *  And  well  I 
know,'  he  said,  *  that  you  will  hold  me  for  a  very  insignificant  fellow, 
at  which  I  am  ill  pleased.'  Then  spoke  Utgardloki :  '  I  will  tell  thee 
the  truth,  now  that  I  have  got  thee  again  outside  our  city,  to  which, 
so  long  as  I  live  and  bear  rule  there,  thou  shalt  never  enter  again ;  and 
I  trow  that  thou  never  shouldst  have  entered  it  had  I  known  thee  to  be 
possessed  of  such  great  strength.  I  deceived  thee  by  my  illusions ;  for 
the  first  time  I  saw  thee  was  in  the  wood  ;  me  it  was  thou  mettest  there. 
Three  blows  thou  struckest  with  thy  hammer;  the  first,  the  lightest, 
would  have  been  enough  to  bring  death  had  it  reached  me.  Thou 
sawest  by  my  hall  a  rocky  mountain,  and  in  it  three  square  valleys, 
of  which  one  was  the  deepest.  These  were  the  marks  of  thy  hammer. 
It  was  the  mountain  which  I  placed  in  the  way  of  thy  blow,  but  thou 
didst  not  discover  it.  And  it  was  the  same  in  the  contests  in  which  ye 
measured  yourselves  against  my  people.  The  first  was  that  in  which 
Loki  had  a  share.  He  was  right  hungr)'  and  ate  well.  But  he  whom 
we  call  Logi  was  the  fire  itself,  and  he  devoured  the  flesh  and  bowl 
alike.  When  Thialfi  ran  a  race  with  another,  that  was  my  thought,  and 
it  was  not  to  be  looked  for  that  Thialfi  should  match  him  in  speed. 
When  thou  drankest  out  of  the  horn,  and  it  seemed  so  difficult  to 
empty,  a  wonder  was  seen  which  I  should  not  have  deemed  possible. 
The  other  end  of  the  horn  stretched  out  to  the  sea :  that  thou  didst  not 
perceive,  but  when  thou  comest  to  the  shore  thou  mayest  see  what  a 
drain  thou  hast  made  from  it.  And  that  shall  men  call  the  ebb.'  He 
continued :  *  Not  less  wonderful  and  mighty  a  feat  didst  thou  when 


214  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

grass  green  far  up  the  hillside.  In  his  strife  with  the 
hostile  forces  of  nature  he  was  man's  firm  friend ;  and 
when  with  the  poor  serfs  the  strife  was  over,  he  took 
them  to  himself.  They  could  not  *  fare  to  Odin,'  but 
they  fared  to  Thor.  We  are  told  that  the  newly-con- 
verted Germans  had  under  the  name  of  Christ  the  lord 
of  thunder  and  giver  of  rain  in  view,  and  confounded 
the  sign  of  the  cross  with  the  sign  of  the  hammer.  It 
was  not  an  unnatural  mistake."  ^ 

(2)  Baldur,  the  Slimmer  God. — "  He  is  the  best,  and 
all  mankind  are  loud  in  his  praise.  So  fair  and  dazzling 
is  he  in  form  and  features  that  rays  of  light  seem  to 
issue  from  him;  and  thou  mayest  have  some  idea  of 
the  beauty  of  his  hair  when  I  tell  thee  that  the  whitest 
of  all  plants  is  called  *  Baldur's  brow.'  "  He  dwells  in 
a  heavenly  mansion  called  Breidablik,  meaning  that 
bright  upper  air  which  is  the  home  of  the  sun. 

thou  wast  at  lifting  of  the  cat ;  and,  to  speak  sooth,  we  were  all  in  a 
fright  when  we  saw  thou  hadst  raised  one  paw  from  the  ground.  For 
a  cat  it  was  not,  as  it  seemed  to  thee.  It  was  the  Midgard  worm,  who 
lies  encircling  all  lands ;  and  when  thou  didst  this  he  had  scarce  length 
enough  left  to  keep  head  and  tail  together  on  the  earth,  for  thou 
stretchedst  him  up  so  high  that  almost  thou  reachedst  heaven.  A 
great  wonder  it  was  at  the  wrestling-bout  which  thou  hadst  with  Elli ; 
but  no  one  was  nor  shall  be  whom,  how  long  soever  he  live,  Elli  will 
not  reach  and  Age  bring  to  earth.  Now  that  we  are  at  parting  thou  hast 
the  truth ;  and  for  both  of  us  it  were  better  that  thou  come  not  here 
again.  For  again  I  shall  defend  my  castle  with  my  deceptions,  and  thy 
might  will  avail  nothing  against  me.'  When  Thor  heard  these  words 
he  seized  his  hammer  and  raised  it  on  high,  but  when  he  would  have 
struck  he  could  see  Utgardloki  nowhere.  He  turned  toward  the  city, 
and  was  for  destroying  it,  but  he  saw  a  wide  and  beautiful  plain  before 
him,  and  no  city," — Outlines  of  Primitive  Belief,  p.  349. 
1  The  Faiths  of  the  World. 


NORSE  MYTHOLOGY.  21$ 

«« 'Tis  Breidablik  called, 
Where  Baldur  the  fair 
Hath  built  him  a  bower. 
In  that  land  where  I  know 
The  least  loathliness  lieth." 

In  all  the  mythologies  of  the  nations  there  is  no  more 
fascinating  or  affecting  tale  than  that  of  Baldur's  death.^ 

*  "  The  death  of  Baldur  the  good  is  thus  related  :  Having  been  tor- 
mented with  bad  dreams,  indicating  that  his  life  was  in  danger,  he  told 
them  to  the  assembled  gods,  who  made  all  creatures  and  things,  living 
or  dead,  take  an  oath  to  do  him  no  harm.     This  oath  was  taken  by  fire 
and  water,  ii'on  and  all  other  metals,  stones,  earths,  diseases,  poisons, 
birds  and  creeping  things.     After  this  they  amused  themselves  at  their 
meeting  in  setting  Baldur  up  as  a  mark,  some  hurling  darts  or  shooting 
arrows  at  him,  and  some  cutting  at  him  with  swords  and  axes  ;  and,  as 
nothing  hurt  him,  it  was  accounted  a  great  honor  done  to  Baldur.     But 
wicked  Loki  (or  Loke)  was  envious  at  this,  and,  assuming  the  form 
of  a  woman,  he  inquired  of  the  goddess  who  administered  the  oath 
whether  all  things  had  taken  it.     She  said  everything  except  one  little 
shrub  called  mistletoe,  which  she  thought  too  young  and  feeble  to  do 
any  harm.     Therefore  Loki  got  the  mistletoe,  and,  bringing  it  to  one 
of  the  gods,  persuaded  him  to  throw  it  at  Baldur,  who,  pierced  to  the 
heart,  fell  dead.     The  grief  was  immense.     A  special  messenger  was 
despatched  to  Queen  Hela,  in  hell,  to  inquire  if  on  any  terms  Baldur 
might  be  ransomed.     For  nine  days  and  nights  he  rode  through  dark 
chasms  till  he  crossed  the  river  of  Death,  and,  entering  the  kingdom 
of  Hela,  made  known  his  request.     Hela  replied  that  it  should  now  be 
discovered  whether  Baldur  was  so  universally  loved  as  was  represented, 
for  that  she  would  permit  him  to  return  to  Asgard  if  all  creatures  and 
all  things,  without  exception,  would  weep  for  him.      The  gods  then 
despatched  messengers  through   the  world  to  beg  all  things  to  weep 
for  Baldur,  which  they  immediately  did.     Then  you  might  have  seen 
not  only  crocodiles,  but  the  most  ferocious  beasts,  dissolved  in  tears. 
Fishes  wept  in  the  water,  and  birds  in  the  air.     Stones  and  trees  were 
covered  with  pellucid  dewdrops,  and,  for  all  we  know,  this  general  grief 
may  have  been  the  occasion  of  some  of  the  deluges  reported  by  geology. 
The  messengers  returned,  thinking  the  work  done,  when  they  found  an 
old  hag  sitting  in  a  cavern,  and  begged  her  to  weep  Baldur  out  of  hell. 


2l6  THE  RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

He  was  slain  by  his  brother,  who  unwittingly  threw  at 
him  a  sprig  of  mistletoe.  All  nature  mourned  to  bring 
him  back — "  all  living  things  and  trees  and  stones  and 
metals  " — but  in  vain.  His  body  was  placed  upon  the 
ship  Ringhorni,  whereon  a  funeral-pyre  was  lighted, 
and  thus  it  drifted  out  upon  the  boundless  sea.  How 
could  pen  or  pencil  more  splendidly  set  forth  the  fun- 
eral-fires of  summer — a  dead  glory  sinking  in  the  red 
conflagration  of  a  sunset  sea? 

(3)  Njord,  the  Sailors'  God. — "  He  rules  over  the  winds 
and  checks  the  fury  of  the  sea  and  of  fire,  and  is  there- 
fore invoked  by  seafarers  and  fishermen."  He  has  his 
dwelling  close  by  the  shore,  where  he  may  hear  the 
voices  of  the  wrecked  and  bewildered.  The  scream  of 
the  sea-bird  makes  music  in  his  ears. 

(4)  Frey,  the  patron  of  agriculture.  **  He  presides 
over  rain  and  sunshine  and  all  the  fruits  of  the  earth, 
and  should  be  invoked  to  obtain  good  harvests,  and 
also  for  peace.  He,  moreover,  dispenses  wealth  among 
men."  ^ 

But  she  declared  that  she  could  gain  nothing  by  so  doing,  and  that 
Baldur  might  stay  where  he  was,  like  other  people  as  good  as  he,  plant- 
ing herself,  apparently,  on  the  great  but  somewhat  selfish  principle  of 
non-intervention.  So  Baldur  remains  in  the  halls  of  Hela.  But  this 
old  woman  did  not  go  unpunished,  She  was  shrewdly  suspected  to  be 
Loki  himself  in  disguise,  and  on  inquiry  so  it  turned  out.  Whereupon 
a  hot  pursuit  of  Loki  took  place,  who,  after  changing  himself  into  many 
forms,  was  caught  and  chained  under  sharp-pointed  rocks  below  the 
earth." — Clarke's  Ten  Great  Religions,  p.  373. 

i'«THE   MARRIAGE   OF   FREY. 
"  Once  Frey  mounted  the  seat  of  Odin,  which  was  called  Air- Throne, 
and,  looking  northward  into  far  Giant-Land,  he  saw  a  light  flash  forth. 
Looking  again,  he  saw  that  the  light  was  made  by  the  maiden  Gerd, 


NORSE  MYTHOLOGY.  21/ 

(5)  Ty^'y  ^^^^  One-handed  God,  the  most  daring  and 
intrepid  of  all.  He  is  the  dispenser  of  courage,  and 
must  be  invoked  by  all  who  would  deport  themselves 
well  in  life's  conflict.  It  is  he  who  enables  men  to  win 
their  way  to  Walhalla,  the  paradise  of  the  brave. 

(6)  Bragi,  the  Master  Skald  or  Singer. — He  is  the 
divine  patron  of  eloquence,  poetry  and  the  painter's 
art. 

(7)  Heimdall,  the  White  God,  the  reputed  son  of 
seven  virgins : 

*'  Son  am  I  of  maidens  nine ; 
Born  am  I  of  sisters  nine." 

He  is  the  sentinel  of  heaven,  ever  on  guard  to  prevent 
the  giants  from  forcing  their  way  into  it.  "  He  requires 
less  sleep  than  a  bird,  and  sees,  by  night  as  by  day,  a 
hundred  miles  around  him.     So  acute  is  his  ear  that 

who  had  just  opened  her  father's  door,  and  that  it  was  her  beauty  which 
thus  shone  over  the  snow.  Then  Freyr  was  smitten  with  love-sadness, 
and  determined  to  woo  the  fair  one  to  be  his  wife;  and  so  he  sent  his 
messenger,  Skirnir,  to  whom  he  gave  his  horse  and  magic  sword. 
Skirnir  went  to  Gerd,  and  he  tjold  her  how  great  Freyr  was  among  the 
yEsir.  and  hoiv  noble  and  happy  a  place  was  Asgard,  the  home  of  the 
gods;  but,  for  all  his  pleading,  Gerd  would  give  no  ear  to  his  suit.  At 
last  the  messenger  drew  his  sword  and  threatened  to  take  her  life  unless 
she  would  grant  to  Freyr  his  desire.  So  Gerd  promised  to  visit  the  god 
nine  nights  thence  in  Barri's  wood. 

"  Here  a  very  simple  nature-myth  is  told  us.  The  earth  will  not  re- 
spond to  the  wooing  of  the  sun  unless  he  draw  his  sharp  sword,  the 
rays.  In  very  northern  lands  we  know  that  the  sun  himself  does 
actually  disappear  in  the  cold  north,  the  death-region.  When  he  is 
there  the  earth  consents  to  meet  him  again  with  love  nine  nights  hence 
— that  is  to  say,  after  the  nine  winter  months  are  over.  They  meet  in 
Barri's  wood,  which  is  the  wood  in  its  first  greenness." — Outlines  of 
Primitive  Belief,  p.  372. 


2l8  THE  RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

no  sound  escapes  him ;  for  he  can  even  hear  the  grass 
growing  on  the  earth  and  the  wool  on  a  sheep's  back." 

(8)  Hod  111%  the  Blinds  the  God  of  Darkness. — It  was  he 
who  pierced  to  the  heart  his  brother,  the  summer  god, 
with  the  sprig  of  mistletoe.  His  name  is  held  in  abhor- 
rence ;  therefore  gods  and  men  alike  never  mention  it. 

(9)  Vidar,  the  Silent. — He  wore  shoes  of  thick  wool. 
His  counsel  was  sought  by  lovers  of  artifice  in  peace 
or  war. 

(10)  Vali,  the  Archer ,  invoked  by  warriors  when  facing 
the  foe. 

(11)  Ullur,  God  of  the  Skees  or  Snow-skates. — He  was 
famed  for  athletic  beauty,  as  well  as  for  the  incompar- 
able speed  with  which  he  traversed  the  fields  of  ice. 

(12)  Forseti,  the  God  of  Even-handed  jfiistice^  con- 
sulted especially  by  disputants  at  law. 

These  were  the  twelve  -^sir,  or  Odinic  gods. 

Loki. — There  was  yet  another,  a  luckless  thirteenth, 
who  must  by  no  means  be  overlooked :  this  was  Loki, 
the  calumniator  of  the  gods.  He  was  at  the  bottom 
of  all  fraud  and  mischief;  handsome  and  graceful,  cun- 
ning and  treacherous,  woe  to  god  or  giant  who  fell 
under  his  evil  eye !  He  was  the  Norseman's  devil. 
He  had  three  children — the  wolf  Fenrir,  the  serpent 
Jormungand,  and  Hel,  or  Death. 

Minor  Poivers. — In  addition  to  the  deities  already 
mentioned,  there  were  others,  minor  gods  and  god- 
desses, without  number.  Moreover,  **  the  earth  and 
air  were  filled  with  unseen  but  most  active  agents — 
with  dwarfs,  busy  in  the  bowels  of  the  mountains 
among  metals  and  stones ;  with  elves,  watching  and 


NORSE  MYTHOLOGY.  2\g 

pervading  the  life  of  plants  and  trees  and  beasts  and 
men.  War-maidens — the  Valkyries  ^ — went  with  Odin 
to  battle,  and  chose  the  combatants  who  were  to  fall, 
and  waited  on  the  slain  heroes  in  bright  Walhalla. 
Fulgiur  and  Hamingiur,  as  guardian  angels,  accom- 
panied every  man  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave. 
The  fate  of  all  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Norns,^  who, 
spinning  the  threads  of  destiny,  determined  everything 
that  should  be."  ^ 

(2)  The  Creation. — The  Eddas  relate  that  in  the  be- 
ginning there  was  chaos, 

"  When  all  was  not ; 
Nor  sound,  nor  sea, 
Nor  cooling  wave ; 
Nor  earth  there  was 
Nor  sky  above; 
"^  Naught  save  a  void 

And  yawning  gulf." 

The  name  given  to  this  void  and  yawning  gulf  was 

^  "  These  cloudy  beings,  the  Valkyries,  remote  as  they  may  seem  from  the 
things  of  nature  and  from  the  experience  of  life,  filled  a  considerable  space 
in  Teutonic  thought.  They  represented  the  ideal  of  womanhood  to  the 
rude  chivalry  of  the  North.  Their  functions  were  twofold:  they  pre- 
sided over  battles  and  foretold  future  events.  Tacitus  and  Caesar  have 
described  how  the  German  wives  used  to  urge  their  husbands  forward 
in  the  day  of  the  fight,  and  how,  on  more  than  one  occasion,  an  army 
which  had  actually  turned  to  fly  had  been  driven  back  against  the  spears 
of  their  opponents  by  the  exhortations  or  the  jibes  of  their  womankind. 
The  same  writers  have  told  us  of  the  prophetic  powers  ascribed  to 
women  by  the  Teutons.  These  Valkyri  had  some  influence  upon  the 
Middle-Age  conceptions  of  angels,  and  a  greater  influence  upon  the 
conception  of  witches." — Outlines  of  Primitive  Belief,  p.  345. 

'  The  names  of  the  Norns  were  Urd,  Verdandi  and  Skuld,  meaning 
past,  present  and  future. 

3  The  Faiths  of  the  World. 


220  THE  RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

Ginnungagap,  or  "  the  gaping  gap."  ^  On  the  north 
side  of  it  was  a  cold,  dark  region  called  Niflheim ;  on 
the  south,  a  warm,  bright  region  called  Mispelheim. 
From  the  former  there  flowed  into  the  gulf  a  stream 
of  frigid  venom,  which,  being  melted  by  benignant  fires 
from  Mispelheim,  took  the  form  of  a  giant,  the  terri- 
ble Ymir.  This  giant  was  nourished  by  a  cow.  The 
cow  licked  the  hoar-frost  from  the  rocks,  and  from  this 
hoar-frost  sprang  a  full-grown  man,  whose  son,  Boe, 
became  the  father  of  the  illustrious  trio  Odin,  Vili  and 
Vi ;  that  is,  Spirit,  Will  and  Holiness.  These  three 
slew  the  giant  Ymir,  and  of  his  flesh  they  made  the 
earth ;  of  his  blood,  the  seas,  lakes  and  rivers ;  of  his 
bones,  the  mountain-ranges ;  of  his  teeth,  jaws  and 
broken  bones,  the  stones  and  pebbles.  They  fastened 
the  earth  together,  and  bound  the  ocean  round  it  like 
a  ring.  Of  the  giant's  skull  they  made  the  sky,  and 
raised  it  over  the  earth.  At  its  four  corners  were  sta- 
tioned the  watchful  dwarfs  Austre,  Vestre,  Nordre  and 
Sudre ;  that  is.  East,  West,  North  and  South.  In  the 
mean  time,  sparks  flying  from  Mispelheim  were  caught 
and  fixed  in  heaven  to  illuminate  the  heavens  and  earth. 
The  earth  was  surrounded  by  a  wall  made  from  the 
giant's  shaggy  eyebrows,  that  so  its  inhabitants  might 
be  prevented  from  falling  off.  His  brains  also,  scat- 
tered through  the  air,  became  the  flying  clouds.  The 
giant  at  length  being  quite  used  up,  the  work  of 
creation  was  perforce  regarded  as  finished,  and  all  very 
good. 

^  The  exact  equivalent  of  chaos,  from  the  Greek  ;t;aw,  to  gape. 


NORSE   MYTHOLOGY.  221 

Observe,  there  is  no  suggestion  here  of  the  produc- 
tion of  anything  ex  nihilo.  The  Norsemen  were  strict 
evolutionists.  They  must  have  something  to  begin 
with,  even  though  it  were  necessary  to  get  back  of 
everything  in  order  to  find  it. 

As  the  three  sons  of  Boe  w^ere  passing  along  the 
sea-strand  they  found  two  wonderful  trees,  an  ash  and 
an  elm,  out  of  which  they  produced  the  first  human 
pair,  calling  them  Ask  and  Embla.  Odin  breathed 
into  them  the  breath  of  life,  Vili  gave  them  reason, 
and  Vi  gave  them  a  fair  complexion  and  the  senses ; 
as  it  is  written : 

*'  Spirit  they  owned  not. 
Sense  they  had  not, 
Blood  nor  vigor. 
Spirit  gave  Odin, 
Thought  gave  Vili, 
Blood  gave  Vi 
And  color  fair." 

It  was  thus  that  the  Norsemen  accounted  for  the  origin 
of  things. 

(3)  The  Future. — They  believed  in  a  future  life. 
Death  was  called  heimgang,  or  home-going — "  a 
thought  always  beautiful  and  tender,  but  still  more 
so  as  coming  from  these  wild  rovers  of  the  homeless 
sea."  They  placed  coins  under  the  tongues  of  their 
dead  to  pay  their  fare  to  the  other  world.  But  while 
they  believed  in  a  future  life,  they  rejected  immortality. 
The  present  order,  however  far  extended,  will  ultimately 
come  to  rack  and  ruin.  Gods  and  men  together  will 
perish  when  the  cycle  ends. 


:r22  THE   RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

"  Between  divine  and  human  life  what  is  the  odds? 
A  human  life  is  but  a  watch-tick  to  the  gods. 
Their  hour  has  many  ticks,  their  day  has  many  an  hour, 
And  many  days  fill  up  their  years'  enormous  dower; 
But  when  threescore  and  ten  of  those  large  years  a  god 
Has  told,  he  is  touched  by  death's  appropriating  rod." 

Ragnarok. — The  crisis  of  the  universal  struggle  de- 
picted in  the  Norse  religion  is  reached  at  Ragnarok,  or 
gods'  doom.  By  this  is  meant  the  awful  and  universal 
catastrophe  which  is  to  terminate  the  existing  order 
and  make  room  for  a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth.  It 
is  to  be  preceded  by  three  successive  winters  without  a 
summer,  during  which  war  and  tumult  are  to  prevail 
universally : 

"  Brothers  will  fight  together 
And  become  each  other's  bane ; 
Sisters'  children 
Shall  foully  wrong  each  other. 
Hard  is  the  world  ; 
Sensual  sins  grow  huge. 
There  are  axe-ages,  sword-ages  ; 
Shields  are  cleft  in  twain. 
There  are  wind-ages,  wolf-ages, 
E'er  the  world  falls  dead." 

In  the  mean  time,  Odin  has  been  recruiting  his  army 
of  heroes  from  all  earth's  battlefields  in  anticipation  of 
the  final  struggle  with  the  giants  of  the  lower  world. 
The  last  day  is  at  length  ushered  in  by  the  shrill  crow- 
ing of  three  cocks — the  gold-bright,  the  bright-red  and 
the  sooty-red.  From  above  the  gateway  of  the  infernal 
regions  Egdir,  the  storm-eagle,  screams  his  defiant  re- 
sponse. 

"  Loud  howls  Garm  from  the  Gnupa  cave ; 
The  fetter  breaks  and  the  wolf  runs  free." 


NORSE  MYTHOLOGY.  223 

From  the  east  a  ship  comes  saiHng,  bringing  the  frost- 
giants,  and  another,  made  of  dead  men's  nails,  comes 
laden  with  a  troop  of  ghosts.  In  front  are  the  wolves 
that  sat  at  Odin's  feet,  the  sea-monster,  and  Garm  the 
hell-hound.  One  of  the  wolves  devours  the  sun,  the 
other,  the  moon.  The  stars  fall  and  the  earth  is  con- 
vulsed. The  Midgard  serpent  seeks  the  land,  and  the 
sea  rushes  over  all.  In  the  midst  of  this  universal 
wrack  a  blast  from  the  trumpet  of  Heimdall  awakes 
the  gods,  who  prepare  for  the  fray.  Now  the  heavens 
are  rent,  and  from  the  five  hundred  and  forty  gates  of 
Walhalla  they  issue  forth,  leading  the  four  hundred  and 
thirty-two  thousand  heroes  of  Odin.  In  the  midst  of 
Vigrid's  plain  they  meet  the  Fenris  wolf,  the  serpent, 
the  giants,  Loki  himself,  and  all  the  hosts  of  Hel.  Odin 
is  swallowed  by  the  Fenris  wolf;  the  Fenris  wolf  is 
pierced  by  the  sword  of  Vidar.  Thor  slays  the  Mid- 
gard serpent,  but,  suffocated  by  its  poisonous  breath, 
recoils  nine  paces  and  falls  dead.  Frey  is  overcome 
by  Surt.  Tyr  is  killed  by  the  dog  Gurt.  Heimdall 
measures  weapons  with  the  fierce  Loki,  and  both  fall. 
Then  Surt  flings  a  handful  of  fire  on  the  earth,  and 
there  is  universal  conflagration. 

"  The  sun  grows  dark; 
The  earth  sinks  into  the  sea ; 
The  bright  stars 
From  heaven  vanish; 
Fire  rages, 
Heat  blazes, 
And  high  flames  play 
'Gainst  heaven  itself."  ^ 
*  For  most  of  the  translations  in  this  article  the  author  is  indebted  to 
Anderson's  Norse  Mythology. 


224  ^-^-^  RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

« 

Restoration. — But  this  general  catastrophe  is  to  be 
followed  by  a  renewal  or  "  regeneration."  The  earth 
is  to  rise  again,  green  and  fair,  from  the  sea.  The  fields 
are  to  produce  spontaneous  harvests.  The  two  surviv- 
ing gods — Vidar  the  silent  and  Vadi  the  archer — are  to 
dwell  upon  the  former  site  of  Asgard,  and  thither  shall 
come  the  sons  of  Thor  and  other  mighty  ones.  Two 
mortals,  Lif  and  Lifthraser,  who  also  have  escaped  the 
conflagration,  are  to  repeople  the  earth.  The  sun's 
daughter  is  to  take  her  mother's  place  in  mid-heaven, 
giving  light  to  all.  "  And  if  you  ask  any  more  ques- 
tions," said  Har  to  Ganglere,  "  I  have  never  heard  any 
one  tell  further  of  the  world's  fate.  Make  now  the 
best  of  what  I  have  told  you." 

Heaven. — The  heaven  of  the  Norsemen  was  a  place 
of  two  apartments.  The  first,  Walhalla,  was  for  heroes 
only.  It  was  a  vast  hall  "  shining  with  pure  gold,  its 
ceiling  formed  of  spears,  its  walls  of  shields,  its  benches 
glittering  with  coats  of  mail."  The  distinguished  war- 
riors who  were  admitted  here  regaled  themselves  on 
the  flesh  of  the  wild  boar  Sahrimner — 

"  'Tis  the  best  of  flesh ; 
There  are  few  who  know 
What  the  Einherjes  eat" — 

and  luscious  beer  from  the  goat  Heidrun.  Every  morn- 
ing, as  soon  as  dressed,  they  went  forth  into  the  court 
and  fought  and  slew  one  another;  then  came  in  to 
breakfast. 

"  All  the  Einherjes 
In  Odin's  court 
Hew  daily  each  other. 
They  choose  the  slain, 


NORSE  MYTHOLOGY.  225 

And  ride  from  the  battlefield ; 
Then  sit  they  in  peace  together." 

The  other  apartment  of  heaven  is  called  Gimli.  It 
is  for  all  the  virtuous  and  brave.  "  Plenty  is  there  of 
good  drink  for  those  who  deem  this  a  joy." 

Hell. — The  Norsemen's  hell  also  consists  of  two 
apartments.  The  first,  Niflheim,  is  a  kind  of  purga- 
tory, to  be  used  only  until  Ragnarok  is  passed.  The 
other,  Nastrand,  is  to  be,  through  all  successive  cycles, 
a  place  of  unmitigated  torment.  It  is  represented  as  a 
great  hall  opening  toward  the  stormy  north,  built  of 
serpents  wattled  together,  their  heads  inward,  vomiting 
venom  that  flows  in  streams  along  the  floor,  wherein 
all  perjurers  and  murderers  are  doomed  to  wade.  The 
dwelling  of  the  goddess  Hel  is  thus  described :  "  Her 
palace  is  anguish,  her  table  is  famine,  her  knife  is  star- 
vation, her  waiters  are  slowness  and  delay,  her  door  is 
a  precipice,  her  bed  is  care,  and  its  curtains  are  splen- 
did misery." 

III.  Forms  of  Worship. — The  rites  and  ceremonies  of 
the  Norsemen  were  of  the  simplest.  They  had  three 
annual  festivals.  The  first,  called  Yul  (whence  our 
Yule-tide),  occurred  at  the  winter  solstice,  on  the 
longest  night  of  the  year.  The  second  was  in  the 
spring-time,  in  honor  of  the  goddess  Ostara,  whence 
our  Easter.  The  third  was  the  great  festival  of  Odin, 
at  which  sacrifices  and  prayers  were  offered,  though  at 
no  time  would  the  Norsemen  confess  an  utter  depend- 
ence on  their  gods.  They  seem  to  have  believed,  as 
James  Freeman  Clarke  says,  "  in  nothing  but  their 
own  might  and  main." 

15 


226  THE   RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

Their  sacred  rites  were  most  frequently  celebrated 
in  the  forests,  the  worshipers  full  armed  and  uplifting 
jovial  cups.  From  them  we  have  our  custom  of  drink- 
ing toasts.  They  drank  to  Odin,  then  to  the  lesser 
gods,  and  then  to  dead  heroes,  at  which  period  of  the 
sacred  ceremonies  the  martial  worshiper  was  usually 
hors  du  combat — i,  e.  under  the  table.  This  was  reck- 
oned the  height  of  religious  fervor. 

The  trees  of  the  forest  were  regarded  with  special 
reverence :  the  oak,  with  the  mistletoe  springing  out 
of  its  bosom,  the  ash  and  the  elm  were  looked  upon 
as  sentient  things.  A  tree  was  thought  to  be  growing 
somewhere  with  branches  overshadowing  the  earth  and 
top  reaching  into  heaven. 

"  I  know  an  ash  that  stands,  Yggdrasil  named, 
Towering  aloft  with  limpid  water  laved  : 
Thence  come  the  dews  that  fall  into  the  dales ; 
Over  Fate's  fountain  stands  it  ever  green." 

V 

From  these  ancient  beliefs  and  customs  we  have  de- 
rived our  May  pole^  and  Christmas  tree.^ 

^  The  author  of  the  Anaiomie  of  Abuses  (sixteenth  century)  thus  refers 
to  the  customs  of  May  Day :  "  They  goe  some  to  the  woods  and  groves, 
some  to  the  hills  and  mountaines,  where  they  spend  the  night  in  pleasaunt 
pastime,  and  in  the  morning  they  return,  bringing  with  them  birche 
boughes  and  branches  of  trees  to  deck  their  assemblies  withal.  But 
their  chiefest  jewel  they  bring  thence  is  the  Maypoale,  which  they  bring 
home  with  great  veneration,  as  thus :  they  have  twentie  or  fourtie  yoake 
of  oxen,  and  everie  oxe  has  a  sweet  nosegaie  of  flowers  tied  to  the  top 
of  his  homes,  and  these  oxen  drawe  the  Maypoale,  the  stinking  idol 
rather." 

*  "  The  village  tree  of  the  German  races  was  originally  a  tribal  tree, 
with  whose  existence  the  life  of  the  village  was  involved;  and  when 
we  read  of  Christian  saints  and  confessors  that  they  made  a  point  of 


NORSE  MYTHOLOGY.  227 

IV.  Morals. — Central  Thought :  Courage. — The  cen- 
tral thought  of  the  Norse  rehgion  was  courage.  The 
business  of  these  people  was  war.  They  saw  perpetual 
strife  in  nature — sea  against  land,  winter  against  sum- 
mer, light  against  darkness ;  personifying  the  forces 
of  nature,  they  made  a  pantheon  of  warlike  gods  and 
giants,  typifying  the  endless  antagonisms  of  good  and 
evil ;  and — as  the  proverb  holds  good,  "  Like  gods, 
like  people  " — they  themselves  conceived  that  to  be 
the  manliest  life  which  in  utter  fearlessness  was  most 
nearly  like  that  of  their  gods. 

''What  shall  I  Do  to  be  Saved?'' — Their  answer  to 
the  question,  "  What  shall  I  do  to  be  saved  ?"  was, 
Fight  a  good  fight ;  against  what,  it  scarcely  matters ; 
whether  the  cause  be  good  or  bad,  quit  yourself  like  a 
man,  and  the  gates  of  Walhalla  will  open  to  receive 
you. 

Not  that  these  people  had  no  true  moral  conceptions. 
They  condemned,  in  particular,  blasphemy,  perfidy  and 
unchastity ;  not  so  much,  however,  because  these  were 
morally  wrong  as  because  they  unmanned  men.  They 
held  that  the  sin  of  all  sins  was  cowardice.  No  braver 
souls,  let  it  be  said,  ever  lived  than  these  Norsemen. 
They  encountered  the  tempests  of  their  northern  seas 
in  rude,  fragile  boats,  and,  wielding  the  simplest  weap- 
ons, were  unconquerable  in  battle.  They  were  so 
jealous  of  their  personal  independence,  so  determined 
on  having  elbow-room,  that  they  dwelt  in  homes  apart, 

cutting  down  these  half-idols,  we  cannot  woiider  at  the  rage  they  called 
forth,  nor  that  they  often  paid  the  penalty  of  their  courage." — Outlines 
of  Frhnitive  Belief,  p.  65. 


228  THE  RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

contemning  the  restraints  of  village-life.  They  loved 
freedom  with  all  their  heart  and  soul  and  strength,  and 
they  left  as  a  heritage  to  the  nations  a  broad  spirit  of 
individual  sovereignty  which  has  expressed  itself,  in 
these  last  days,  in  the  manifesto,  "  All  men  are  created 
free  and  equal,  and  with  certain  inalienable  rights."  ^ 

The  old  Norse  king,  Ragnor  Lodbrok,  when  about 
to  die,  refusing  to  complain,  said,  "  We  are  cut  to  pieces 
with  swords,  but  it  fills  me  with  joy  to  think  of  the 
feast  prepared  for  me  in  Odin's  palace.  Quickly, 
quickly,  seated  in  the  splendid  habitation  of  the  gods, 
I  shall  be  drinking  beer  out  of  a  curved  horn.  A  brave 
man  fears  not  to  die." 

The  conversion  of  the  Teutons  to  Christianity  was  a 
matter  of  brief  time  and  little  difficulty.  Their  inde- 
pendent spirit  had  fully  prepared  them  for  acquiescence 
in  a  gospel  whose  prime  virtue  is  manliness  and  whose 
highest  aspiration  is  the  glorious  liberty  of  the  chil- 
dren of  God ;  and,  moreover,  they  perceived  that  the 
new  religion  offered  as  a  gratuity  what  the  old  had  not 
even  suggested  to  them — namely,  a  complete  deliver- 
ance from  the  bondage  and  shame  of  sin. 


"  King  Olaf  raised  the  hilt 
Of  iron,  cross- shaped  and  gilt, 
And  said,  '  Do  not  refuse; 
Count  well  the  cost  and  loss — 
Thor's  hammer  or  Christ's  cross  : 
Choose !' 

*  Montesquieu  says:  "  The  Goth  Jornandes  calls  the  North  of  Europe 
*  the  forge  of  mankind.'  I  would  rather  call  it  the  forge  of  those  in- 
struments which  broke  the  fetters  manufactured  in  the  South." 


NORSE   MYTHOLOGY.  229 

"And  Halfred  the  scald  said,  *  This 
Is  the  name  of  the  Lord  I  kiss, 

"Who  on  it  was  crucified.' 
And  a  shout  went  round  the  board : 
*  In  the  name  of  Christ  the  Lord 
Who  died !' 

"  Then  over  the  waste  of  snows 
The  noonday  sun  uprose, 

Through  the  driving  mists  revealed, 
Like  the  lifting  of  the  Host, 
By  incense  clouds  almost 

Concealed. 

"  On  the  shining  wall  a  vast 
And  shadowy  cross  was  cast 

From  the  hilt  of  the  lifted  sword; 
And  in  foaming  cups  of  ale 
The  Berserks  drank,  *  Was  hael ! 

To  the  Lord  !' "  1 

It  was  in  the  eighth  century  that  St.  Boniface  hewed 
down  the  sacred  oak  of  Thor.  While  his  axe  rang 
against  the  gnarled  trunk  the  worshipers  of  the  thun- 
der-god stood  by,  expecting  momentarily  to  see  him 
struck  with  Heaven's  wrath.  When,  at  length,  he 
knelt  unharmed  by  the  side  of  the  fallen  oak,  they 
recognized  him  as  a  hero  after  their  own  heart,  and 
were  ready  to  kneel  beside  him  in  reverence  to  Thor's 
conqueror,  the  Christ.  The  proclamation  of  the  gos- 
pel, as  Frederick  Maurice  says,  "  did  not  find  the  Goths 
watching  the  embers  of  an  expiring  civilization,  but, 
full  of  boyish  vigor  and  life  and  rudeness,  eager  to 
break  and  subdue  the  earth ;  possessed  by  the  wildest 
dreams  of  powers  in  earth  and  sea  which  wrestled  for 
^  Longfellow,  King  Olafs  Christmas. 


230  THE  RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

victory ;  doing  homage  to  a  champion  of  strong  hand 
and  seeing  eye,  the  leader  of  their  host  and  their 
prophet.  With  much  joy,  though  amidst  much  con- 
fusion, these  barbarians  welcomed  the  tidings  of  a  Re- 
deemer in  whom  men  could  recognize  at  once  their 
Lord  and  their  brother." 

To  these  worshipers  of  Odin  and  his  twelve  mighties 
we  are  largely  indebted  for  the  free,  broad,  hearty  Prot- 
estantism which  now  so  largely  prevails  among  the 
more  advanced  peoples  of  the  earth.  It  was  a  Saxon 
monk  who  nailed  to  the  royal  chapel  door  in  15 17  the 
ninety  theses  of  the  Reformation,  and  his  countrymen 
are  to-day  in  the  van  of  the  great  struggle  for  spiritual 
freedom.  The  battle  goes  bravely  on — a  grander  than 
that  of  ^sir  against  giants — and  "  the  White  Christ " 
must  win.  He,  being  lifted  up,  will  draw  all  men  unto 
him. 

*'  Cross  against  corslet, 
Love  against  hatred, 
Peace-ciy  for  war-cry ! 

"  Stronger  than  steel 
Is  the  sword  of  the  Spirit; 
Swifter  than  arrows 
The  light  of  the  truth  is; 
Greater  than  anger 
Is  love,  and  subdueth. 

"The  dawn  is  not  distant. 
Nor  is  the  night  starless; 
Love  is  eternal ! 
God  is  still  God,  and 
His  faith  shall  not  fail  us ; 
Christ  is  eternal !" 


VIII. 

CONFUCIANISM. 


n,. 


li.  >. 


A.  Its  CeJitral  Thought :  The  Kingdom. 

B.  Its  Characteristic  Features  : 

I.  Filial  Piety.  U^-^'i   ^'^JJj^^'' 

"  What  shall  I  Do  to  be  Saved  ?" 

II.  Veneration  for  Learning. 

Sacred  Books  : 
(I.)   The  Five  King  : 

1.  Shu-King;  Ancient  Chronicles. 

2.  Shi-King ;  Ancient  Poems. 

3.  Li-King ;   Book  of  Etiquette, 

4.  Yih-King ;  Book  of  Divination. 

5.  Chun-tsiu  ;  or,  Spring  and  Autumn. 
(II.)  The  Four  Shoo  : 

1.  Lun-Yu  ;  or  Table-talk  of  Confucius. 

2.  Ta-Hio  ;   or  Great  Learning. 

3.  Chung-Yung;  or  Doctrine  of  the  Mean. 

4.  The  Works  of  Mencius. 

III.  Conservatism.    ^   ^tjTCtli^-'^-'^'''' 
C.  Its  Fruits  : 

1.  No  intellectual  vigor.  /* 

2.  No  ambition.     -  '■  f   ,     .   1.^  .  ,• 

3.  No  good  cheer. --l^^^^r 

4.  No  common  morality. 


VIII.  CONFUCIANISM. 

Its  Foimder. — In  the  sixth  century  b.  c.  there  was  an 
old  officer  in  the  province  of  Lu  named  Shuh-liang- 
heih,  who  was  the  last  living  scion  of  the  proudest 
lineage  in  China.  At  seventy  years  of  age  he  sought 
an  alliance  with  a  family  wherein  there  were  three  fair 
daughters.  The  two  oldest  gave  an  adverse  answer  to 
his  suit ;  the  youngest  married  him  from  a  sense  of 
duty,  in  the  hope  of  perpetuating  his  honorable  line. 
In  the  year  551  she  became  the  mother  of  a  son  who 
was  named  K'ung-foo-Tse,  the  "  Master  Kung,"  or,  as 
the  world  knows  him,  Confucius. 

The  chronicles  say  that  not  long  before  this  a  curious 
stone  had  been  found  in  his  father's  garden  bearing  this 
inscription :  "  A  child  is  about  to  be  born  pure  as  the 
crystal  wave  ;  he  shall  be  a  king  zvithotit  a  kingdom^  ^ 

This  occurred  at  about  the  time  when  the  Jews  were 
beginning  to  return  from  Babylon,  when  Pythagoras 
was  teaching  his  disciples  under  the  palm  trees,  and^^ 
when  the  Tarquins  were  governing  Rome.  ^^ 

The  boy  K'ung-foo-Tse  was  early  left  fatherless. 
His  youth  was  passed  in  poverty.  Tradition  says  that 
when  six  years  old  he  developed  a  taste  for  playing  at 

^  This  prediction  has  been  fulfilled.     The  subjects  of  the  uncrowned     * 
king  have  been  hundreds  of  millions.    No  other  teacher  has  ever  spoken 
to  so  many  souls. 

233 


234  '^H^  RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

sacrifices,  and  at  fifteen  he  conceived  an  insatiable  thirst 
for  learning.  On  coming  of  age  he  married  and  was 
appointed  superintendent  of  parks  in  his  native  place. 

At  this  time  the  government  of  China  was  in  dire 
confusion.  "  It  had  fallen  into  decay,"  writes  his  dis- 
ciple Mencius, "  and  sound  principles  had  disappeared." 
The  people  cherished  dim  traditions  of  an  age  of  in- 
nocence in  the  far-away  past,  '*  when  the  whole  crea- 
tion enjoyed  a  state  of  happiness,  when  everything  was 
beautiful  and  everything  good,  when  all  beings  were 
perfect  of  their  kind."  How  sad  the  change !  Now 
"  perverse  disputings  and  oppressive  deeds  were  waxen 
rife.  Ministers  murdered  their  rulers,  and  sons  their 
fathers."  Mencius  adds  significantly,  "  Confucius  was 
frightened  at  what  he  saw." 

The  popular  ballad  of  that  day,  which  still  survives 
in  the  Book  Shi-King,  was  this : 

"  Cold  blows  the  north  wind, 
Thickly  falls  the  snow ; 
Oh  come,  all  ye  that  love  me, 

Let  us  join  hands  and  go. 
Can  we  any  longer  stay, 
Victims  of  this  dire  dismay?" 

Thus  did  the  people  lament  the  disorders  of  the 
times.  Confucius  took  advantage  of  his  official  posi- 
tion to  inquire  into  the  origin  of  these  disorders ;  and 
he  found  it,  as  he  supposed,  in  the  abandonment  of  the 
practical  precepts  of  the  fathers.  It  was  an  age  of 
speculation;  the  people  went  stumbling  along  the 
paths  of  duty  because  their  ^y^s  were  dreamily  fixed 
on  the  things  of  the  invisible  world.     Dr.  Matheson 


CONFUCIANISM,  235 

says :  "  Men  were  forgetting  the  light  of  the  common 
day  in  their  search  for  that  transcendental  light  which 
never  shone  on  sea  or  land.  On  such  a  world  the 
message  of  Confucius  fell  like  a  thunderbolt  fraught 
with  sanitary  influences.  To  an  age  immersed  in  trans- 
cendentalism there  was  health  in  the  message,  *  Do  the 
will,  and  ye  shall  know  of  the  doctrine.'  There  was 
health  in  the  recall  to  the  practical  duties  of  life  of 
men  who  had  forgotten  that  life  had  any  duties  or  that 
practice  had  any  sphere."  ^ 

^  "  He  professed  to  answer  the  question  by  what  means  a  man  was 
qualified  to  become  a  citizen  of  that  heavenly  kingdom  which  had  been 
established  in  the  Chinese  empire.  When  he  came  upon  the  scene  he 
found  his  countiymen  already  engaged  in  endeavoring  to  solve  that 
problem.  He  found  them  inquiring  into  the  nature  of  that  mysterious 
life  which  they  believed  to  be  diffused  throughout  the  empire.  Some 
held  it  to  be  the  manifestation  of  a  personal  God,  some  looked  upon  it 
as  the  emanation  of  an  impersonal  force  of  nature,  and  some  saw  in  it 
a  stream  of  beneficent  life  poured  down  by  the  immortal  spirits  of  their 
ancestors.  Accordingly,  there  was  everywhere  observed  a  form  of  re- 
ligious worship.  There  were  public  sacrifices ;  there  were  private  pray- 
ers addressed  either  to  the  Supreme  Being  or  to  the  ancestral  dead; 
there  were  rituals  and  rules  for  their  performance.  Confucius  stood 
forth  in  the  midst  of  this  old  world  and  cried,  *  I  show  you  a  more 
excellent  way !'  He  did  not,  indeed,  tell  his  countrymen  that  theirs 
was  a  bad  way ;  he  was  far  too  wise  and  politic  for  that.  He  did  not 
tell  them  that  their  worship  of  a  supramundane  God  was  a  delusion, 
their  belief  in  immortality  a  dream,  and  their  observance  of  a  sacrifice 
a  waste  of  time.  What  he  did  say  was  this :  '  There  are  things  above 
the  power  of  human  comprehension,  beyond  the  grasp  of  human  intel- 
ligence ;  follow  those  things  which  are  within  the  reach  of  that  intel- 
ligence. You  cannot  figure  to  yourself  the  nature  of  God;  you  cannot 
certainly  know  that  there  is  any  point  of  contact  between  His  nature 
and  yours ;  and  in  the  absence  of  such  knowledge  the  efficacy  of  your 
prayers  and  of  your  sacrifices  must  ever  be  an  open  question.  But 
there  is  a  region  lying  at  the  door  which  he  who  will  may  enter,  and 


236  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

In  pursuance  of  his  purpose  to  revive  the  practical 
wisdom  of  the  past  he  devoted  himself  to  the  study 
of  neglected  books  and  parchments,  and,  as  opportunity 
was  afforded,  he  applied  in  the  discharge  of  his  own 
official  functions  the  moral  and  political  maxims  of  the 
sages.  "  A  transforming  power,"  says  Mencius,  "went 
abroad.  Dishonesty  and  dissoluteness  hid  their  heads. 
Loyalty  and  good  faith  became  the  characteristics  of 
the  men,  and  chastity  and  teachableness  of  the  women." 
The  one  object  of  Confucius's  life  now  was  to  reform 
society  and  the  government,  and  to  do  this  by  a  resto- 
ration of  old  customs.  He  opened  a  school.  It  was 
not  long  before  three  thousand  students  were  sitting  at 
his  feet,  and  among  them  many  of  the  most  learned 
and  illustrious  youths  of  the  land. 

His  pupils  reverenced  him  as  the  wisest  and  best  of 
men ;  insomuch  that  they  have  left  on  record  his  most 
commonplace  doings — his  table-talk,  how  he  ate  his 
food,  lay  on  his  bed  and  sat  in  his  carriage ;  how  he 
changed  countenance  when  it  thundered,  how  he  "  rose 
up  before  the  old  man  and  the  mourner."  These  chron- 
icles, together  with  a  voluminous  setting  forth  of  the 

which  is  itself  the  entrance  into  the  heavenly  kingdom — a  region  within 
the  reach  of  the  niost  humble  intellectual  powers  and  capable  of  being 
trodden  by  the  simplest  minds.  That  region  is  the  world  of  duty :  this 
is  the  door  by  which  a  man  must  enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  What 
you  have  called  in  the  past  the  observance  of  religion  is  in  reality  but 
an  exercise  of  imagination  :  it  may  represent  a  truth  or  it  may  not — we 
cannot  tell.  But  morality,  the  doing  of  that  which  is  right,  the  per- 
formance of  the  plain  and  practical  duties  of  the  day  and  hour, — this  is 
the  road  which  is  open  to  eveiy  man,  and  which  will  lead  every  man 
that  follows  it  to  the  highest  goal.'  " — GiiORGE  Matheson,  D.  D.,  in 
Faiths  of  the  World,  p.  66. 


CONFUCIANISM.  237 

precepts  of  ancient  wise  men,  form  the  sacred  books 
of  China. 

The  purpose  of  Confucius,  be  it  remembered,  was 
not  to  originate  a  religious  system,  but  to  quicken  the 
neglected  wisdom  of  the  past  and  reinstate  the  spirit 
of  the  forefathers  as  the  presiding  genius  of  the  em- 
pire. The  objective  point  of  all  his  teachings  was  i 
sound  government.  On  one  of  his  journeys  he  saw 
a  woman  weeping  before  a  tomb,  and  sent  his  disciple 
Tze-loo  to  inquire  the  cause  of  her  sorrow.  She  in- 
formed him  that  here  her  father-in-law,  her  husband  and 
her  son  had  successively  been  killed  by  a  tiger.  "  Why, 
then,"  said  Tze-loo,  "  do  you  not  remove  from  this 
place?" — "Because,"  she  answered,  "there  is  no  op- 
pressive government  here."  On  hearing  this  Confucius 
observed  to  his  disciples,  "  Remember,  oppressive  gov- 
ernment is  fiercer  than  a  tiger." 

His  method  of  instruction  was  dogmatic.  Unlike 
Socrates,  he  would  have  no  questioning.  "  When  I 
have  presented,"  he  said,  "  one  corner  of  my  lesson, 
and  the  pupil  cannot  of  him.self  make  out  the  other 
three,  I  do  not  repeat  it." 

As  to  the  personal  appearance  of  the  philosopher, 
we  may  learn  something  from  an  incident  which  oc- 
curred in  connection  with  his  visit  to  the  capital  of 
Ching.  "There  is  a  man,"  said  one  of  the  townspeople, 
"  standing  at  the  east  gate  with  a  forehead  like  Yaou,  a 
neck  like  Kaou  Yaou,  his  shoulders  on  a  level  with 
those  of  Tsze-chan,  but  wanting  below  the  waist  three 
inches  of  the  height  of  Yu,  and  altogether  having  the 
appearance   of  a  stray   dog."      This    description  was 


238      THE   RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

recognized  by  Tze-Kung,  one  of  Confucius's  disciples, 
who,  hastening  to  his  master,  repeated  what  he  had 
heard.  "  Capital !"  exclaimed  Confucius.  "  Personal 
appearance  is  a  matter  of  slight  consequence,  but  it  is 
something,  indeed,  to  resemble  a  stray  dog." 

He  traveled  to  and  fro  among  the  provinces,  his  dis- 
ciples at  his  back  sharing  his  toil  and  hardships,  and 
visited  many  courts  in  the  hope  of  persuading  their 
rulers  and  dignitaries  to  respect  the  maxims  of  just 
government.  The  land  was  full  of  recluses,  who,  tired 
of  the  monotonous  sight  of  oppression  and  wrong,  had 
betaken  themselves  to  the  wildernesses  in  stoical  de- 
spair; but  Confucius  held  himself  aloof  from  them. 
Born  to  sympathize  with  men  and  be  one  among  them, 
he  preferred  to  "  struggle  on  against  the  tide,  hoping 
against  hope."  Once  in  his  journeying,  having  come 
to  an  impassable  river,  he  sent  his  disciple  Tze-loo  to 
inquire  for  the  ford.  The  man  whom  Tze-loo  happened 
to  meet  was  a  hermit.  "  Go  tell  thy  master,"  said  he, 
"  that  the  disorders  of  our  kingdom  are  a  flood  with- 
out a  ford.  Bid  him  cease  his  endeavor  to  repress  the 
wrongs  that  are  surging  and  spreading  on  every  hand, 
and  retire  from  the  world."  Tze-loo  went  back  and  re- 
ported what  had  been  said,  whereupon  Confucius  made 
this  noble  and  philosophic  reply :  "  We  must  not  with- 
draw from  the  world  to  associate  with  birds  and  beasts 
that  have  no  affinity  with  us.  With  whom  shall  I 
mingle  but  with  suffering  men  ?  It  is  my  vocation  to 
see  that  abuses  shall  cease  by  the  prevalence  of  right 
principles  throughout  the  state."  We  cannot  but  re- 
spect the  true  spirit  of  a  reformer  wherever  it  may  be 


CONFUCIANISM.  239 

found — one  who  knows  the  possibiUty  of  failure  and 
defeat,  yet  keeps  a  brave  heart,  and,  having  done  all, 
stands  in  his  appointed  place. 

Thus  engaged  in  rekindling  the  old  lights  of  wis- 
dom and  virtue,  K'ung-foo-Tse,  "  unconsciously,"  as  he 
tells  us,  "  grew  old."  The  pains  and  weaknesses  of 
age  came  rapidly  upon  him ;  he  leaned  heavily  upon 
his  staff.  One  morning  in  the  fourth  month  of  the 
year  478  he  was  found  moving  about  his  door,  his 
hands  behind  him,  crooning  over  and  over, 

"  The  great  mountain  must  crumble,  " 
The  strong  beam  must  break, 
The  wise  man  must  wither  like  a  plant."  ^ 

His  disciples  led  him  gently  in  and  spake  comforting 
words  ;  but  the  pitcher  was  broken  at  the  fountain. 
"  No,"  he  answered,  '*  comfort  is  vain.     No  king  has 

1  "  These  words  came  as  a  presage  of  evil  to  the  faithful  Tszekung. 
*  If  the  great  mountain  crumble,'  said  he,  '  to  what  shall  I  look  up  ?  If 
the  strong  beam  break  and  the  wise  man  wither  away,  on  whom  shall  I 
lean?  The  master,  I  fear,  is  going  to  be  ill.'  So  saying,  he  hastened 
after  Confucius  into  the  house.  •  What  makes  you  so  late  ?'  said  Con- 
fucius when  the  disciple  presented  himself  before  him ;  and  then  he 
added,  •  According  to  the  statutes  of  Hea,  the  corpse  was  dressed  and 
coffined  at  the  top  of  the  eastern  steps,  treating  the  dead  as  if  he  were 
still  the  host.  Under  the  Yin  the  ceremony  was  performed  between 
the  two  pillars,  as  if  the  dead  were  both  host  and  guest.  The  rule 
of  Chow  is  to  perform  it  at  the  top  of  the  western  steps,  treating  the 
dead  as  if  he  were  a  guest.  I  am  a  man  of  Yin,  and  last  night  I 
dreamt  that  I  was  sitting,  with  offerings  before  me,  between  the  two 
pillars.  No  intelligent  monarch  arises;  there  is  not  one  in  the  empire 
who  will  make  me  his  master.  My  time  is  come  to  die.'  It  is  emi- 
nently characteristic  of  Confucius  that  in  his  last  recorded  speech  and 
dream  his  thoughts  should  so  have  dwelt  on  the  ceremonies  of  bygone 
ages." — Professor  R.  K.  Douglas,  in  Confucianism^  pp.  62,  63. 


240  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

received  me  as  his  counselor/  nor  is  any  willing  to 
adopt  the  wisdom  of  the  sages ;  my  time  has  come 
to  die." 

Outside  the  city  of  K'uih-fow,  approached  by  an 
avenue  of  cypress  trees,  stands  an  image  on  a  lofty 
mound  kept  ever  green,  and  a  memorial  tablet  bearing 

1  "  According  to  his  theory,  his  official  administration  should  have 
effected  the  reform  not  only  of  his  sovereign  and  the  people,  but  of  those 
of  the  neighboring  states.  But  what  w^as  the  practical  result  ?  The 
contentment  which  reigned  among  the  people  of  Loo,  instead  of  in- 
stigating the  duke  of  Ts'e  to  institute  a  similar  system,  only  served  to 
rouse  his  jealousy.  •  With  Confucius  at  the  head  of  its  government,' 
said  he,  '  Loo  will  become  supreme  among  the  states,  and  Ts'e,  which 
is  nearest  to  it,  will  be  swallowed  up.  Let  us  propitiate  it  by  a  sur- 
render of  territoiy.'  But  a  more  provident  statesman  suggested  that 
they  should  try  to  bring  about  the  disgrace  of  the  sage. 

"^Yith  this  object  he  sent  eighty  beautiful  girls,  well  skilled  in  the 
arts  of  music  and  dancing,  and  a  hundred  and  twenty  of  the  finest 
horses  which  could  be  procured,  as  a  present  to  the  duke  Ting.  The 
result  fully  realized  the  anticipation  of  the  minister.  The  girls  were 
taken  into  the  duke's  harem,  the  horses  were  removed  to  the  ducal 
stables,  and  Confucius  was  left  to  meditate  on  the  folly  of  men  who 
preferred  listening  to  the  songs  of  the  maidens  of  Ts'e  to  the  wisdom 
of  Yaou  and  Shun.  Day  after  day  passed,  and  the  duke  showed  no 
signs  of  returning  to  his  proper  mind.  The  affairs  of  state  were  ne- 
glected, and  for  three  days  the  duke  refused  to  receive  his  ministers  in 
audience. 

"  *  Master,'  said  Tze-loo,  '  it  is  time  you  went.'  But  Confucius,  who 
had' more  at  stake  than 'his  disciple,  was  disinclined  to  give  up  the  ex- 
periment on  which  his  heart  was  set.  Besides,  the  time  was  approach- 
ing when  the  great  sacrifice  to  Heaven  at  the  solstice,  about  which  he 
had  so  many  conversations  with  the  duke,  should  be  offered  up,  and  he 
hoped  that  the  recollection  of  his  weighty  words  would  recall  the  duke 
to  a  sense  of  his  duties.  But  his  gay  rivals  in  the  affections  of  the  duke 
still  held  their  sway,  and  the  recurrence  of  the  great  festival  failed  to 
awaken  his  conscience  even  for  the  moment.  Reluctantly,  therefore, 
Confucius  resigned  his  post  and  left  the  capital." — Confucianism,  t^^^. 
38,  39- 


CONFUCIANISM.  24 1 

this  Inscription :  "  The  most  sagely  ancient  teacher, 
the  all-accomphshed,  all-informed  king,  K'ung-foo- 
Tse — king  without  a  kingdom,  yet  reigning  in  hearts 
innumerable."  Hither  the  people  come  from  all  parts 
of  the  vast  empire  to  honor  his  grave  with  votive  offer- 
ings,^ 

1  "  To  the  great  temple  adjoining  the  philosopher's  tomb  the  emperor 
goes  in  state  twice  a  year,  and,  having  twice  knelt  and  six  times  bowed  ; 
his  head  to  the  earth,  invokes  the  presence  of  the  sage  in  these  words : 
« Great  art  thou,  O  perfect  sage.     Thy  virtue  is  full,  thy  doctrine  is  com- 
plete.    Among  mortal  men  there  has  not  been  thine  equal.     All  kings 
honor  thee.     Thy  statutes  and  laws  have  come  gloriously  down.     Thou 
art  the  pattern  of  this  imperial  school.     Reverently  have  the  sacrificial 
vessels  been  set  out.      Full  of  awe  we  sound  our  drums  and  bells.' 
The  spirit  being  now  supposed  to  be  present,  the  ceremony  is  gone 
through  of  presenting  the  appropriate  offerings,  which  consist,  accord- 
ing to  circumstances,  of  pieces  of  satin,  wine,  salted  tiger's  flesh,  dried 
fish,  dried  and  minced  venison,  minced  hare,  minced  fish,  a  pure  black 
bullock,  a  sheep  or  a  pig.     The  officiating  mandarin  then  reads  the  fol- 
lowing prayer :  '  On  this  month  of  this  year,  I,  the  emperor,  offer  a 
sacrifice  to  the  philosopher  K'ung,  the  ancient  teacher,  the  perfect  sage, 
and  say,  O  Teacher,  in  virtue  equal  to  heaven  and  earth,  whose  doc- 
trines embrace  the  past  times  and  the  present,  thou  didst  digest  and 
transmit  the  six  classics,  and  didst  hand  down  lessons  for  all  genera- 
tions.    Now  in  this  second  month  of  spring  (or  autumn),  in  reverent 
observance  of  old  statutes,  with  victims,  silks,  spirits  and  fruits,  I  care- 
fully offer  sacrifice  to  thee.     With  thee  are  associated  the  philosopher 
Yen,  continuator  of  thee ;  the  philosopher  Tsang,  exhibitor  of  thy  fun- 
damental principles;  the  philosopher  Tsze-sze,  transmitter  of  thee;  and 
the  philosopher  Mencius,  second  to  thee.     Enjoy  thou  the  offerings.' 
As  will  be  inferred  from  this  prayer,  the  image  of  Confucius  does  not 
stand  alone,  but  is  surrounded  by  images  of  his  principal  disciples, 
while  in  a  hall  at  the  back  of  that  dedicated  to  him  are  ranged  those 
of  his  ancestors.     Occasionally  different  emperors  have  visited  his  tomb 
in  Shan-tung,  at  which  time  the  imperial  pilgrims  have  worshiped  with 
extraordinary  solemnity  at  his  shrine  in  the  adjoining  temple.     K'ang- 
he,  the  most  celebrated  both  as  a  ruler  and  a  scholar  of  the  emperors 
of  the  present  dynasty,  went  on  such  a  pilgrimage,  and  '  set  the  example 
16 


242      THE   RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

"  Confucius  !  Confucius  !  how  great  was  Confucius ! 
Betore  him  there  was  no  Confucius  ; 
Since  him  there  has  been  no  other. 
Confucius!  Confucius!  how  great  was  Confucius !" 

The  religion  of  the  Chinese  Empire,  with  its  five 
hundred  millions  of  people,  embracing  nearly  one- 
half  of  the  population  of  the  entire  globe,  is  little 
more  than  a  personal  reverence  for  this  illustrious 
man.  Its  rites  and  ceremonies  all  cluster  about  his 
name.  An  acquaintance  with  his  maxims  constitutes 
the  beginning  and  end  of  education.  For  twenty  cen- 
turies they  have  been  taught  in  every  village  school. 
To  the  people  they  are  the  only  creed,  the  only  law. 
Dr.  S.  Wells  Williams  says  :  "  He  receives  such  homage 
from  his  fellow-men  as  no  other  man  has  ever  had,  and 
which  amounts  in  reality  to  worship."  Yet  Dr.  Legge, 
a  profound  student  of  Confucius  and  his  system,  passes 
this  judgment  upon  him :  "  I  am  unable  to  regard  him 
as  a  great  man.  He  was  not  before  his  age,  though  he 
was  above  the  mass  of  the  officers  and  scholars  of  his 
time.  He  threw  no  new  light  on  any  of  the  questions 
which  have  a  world-wide  interest.  He  gave  no  impulse 
to  religion.  He  had  no  sympathy  with  progress.  His 
influence  has  been  wonderful,  but  it  will  henceforth 
wane." 

What,  then,  is  Confucianism  ? 

Its  Central  Thought. — Its  central  thought  is  The 
Kingdom. 

In  Christianity  also  we  hear  of  k  kingdom,  by  which 

of  kneeling  thrice  in  the  dust,  before  the  image  of  the  sage.'  " — Coti' 
fucianism,  pp.  163-165. 


CONFUCIANISM.  243 

is  variously  meant  the  prevalence  of  virtue  in  human 
lives  (Luke  12  :  20,  21  ;  cf.  Rom.  14  :  17),  the  influence 
of  divine  grace  preceding  the  manifestation  of  the  divine 
glory  among  men  (Matt.  13),  or  the  rule  of  the  right- 
eous Lord  in  his  heavens  (Matt.  8:11)  and  over  his 
redeemed  earth  (Rev.  12  :  9,  10).  To  secure  the  com- 
plete establishment  of  this  kingdom  is  the  prime  pur- 
pose of  every  follower  of  Christ  (Matt.  6  :  33).  Its 
name  is  The  Kingdom  of  God.  But  the  kingdom  of 
which  Confucius  dreamed,  and  toward  which  he  con- 
stantly and  most  earnestly  directed  the  minds  of  his 
pupils  and  followers,  was  of  a  much  more  material 
sort.  It  was  purely  a  kingdom  on  earth  and  of  the 
earth.     Its  name  was  China. 

"  It  so  happens,"  says  Dr.  Matheson,  "  that  this 
Chinese  Empire,  with  its  feudal  ranks  and  its  con- 
servative institutions,  is  itself  the  object  of  Chinese 
worship.  The  belief  in  millenarianism — that  is  to  say, 
the  expectation  of  a  kingdom  of  heaven  upon  earth — 
has  in  all  ages  ©f  the  world  found  some  place  in  the 
religious  instinct.  The  vision  of  such  a  kingdom  has 
never  been  wholly  absent  from  the  lives  of  men.  It 
glittered  before  the  eyes  of  the  Parsee ;  it  shone  in  the 
imagination  of  Plato;  it  dominated  the  mind  of  the 
Jew;  it  sustained  the  heart  of  the  early  Christian. 
China,  too,  had  her  kingdom  of  heaven  on  earth,  but 
with  a  difference.  To  the  Parsee,  to  the  Platonist,  to 
the  Jew  and  to  the  Christian  the  heavenly  kingdom  was 
something  still  to  come ;  to  the  Chinaman  it  was  some- 
thing which  had  already  come.  The  Chinese  Empire 
reveals  to  him  the  spectacle  of  a  complete  millenarian- 


i^ 


244  THE  RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

ism — of  a  kingdom  which  exists  no  longer  in  a  vision  of 
the  future,  but  in  the  actual  experience  of  the  passing 
hour.  He  believes  that  the  social  system  in  which  he  lives 
and  moves  is  pervaded  by  a  mysterious  divine  life."  ^ 

Further,  the  system  of  Confucius  teaches  "  that 
by  pursuing  the  plain  and  practical  duties  of  the  hour 
man  can  actually  make  this  world  itself  the  king- 
dom of  God — that  the  harmony  of  the  universe  is  to 
be  found,  not  in  some  transcendental,  timeless  sphere, 
but  in  the  completed  results  of  those  seemingly  trivial 
acts  which  make  up  the  moral  history  of  the  individual 
human  soul."  (It  will  be  seen  that  the  Chinese  phi- 
losopher is  not  without  disciples  in  this  day  ;  the  Ag- 
nostics are  thinking  his  thoughts  after  him.) 

Characteristic  Featiurs.— This  being  the  central 
thought  in  the  system  of  Confucius,  what  are  its 
characteristic  features  ?     They  are  three  : 

I.  Filial  Piety. — The  system  sets  out  with  the  idea 
of  social  order  as  prerequisite  to  the  ideal  government. 
Its  basis  of  obligation  rests  on  the  secular  power.^  In 
most  other  religions  the  leading  idea  is  God.  There 
is  no  God  in  the  religion  of  China.  It  is  purely  politi- 
cal. The  aim  of  Confucius  was  to  reform  the  govern- 
ment of  China,  which  he  conceived  might  be  best  ac- 
complished by  the  reviving  of  certain  healthful  princi- 
ples which  had  prevailed  in  the  traditional  Golden  Age. 

^  Faiths  of  the  World. 

2  "  The  Chinese  does  not  first  ask  where  Spiritual  Intelligence  dwells, 
and  then  confess  that  to  this  he  must  submit.  But  he  starts  with  the 
belief  in  government  or  society,  and  then  demands  that  all  study  or 
intelligence  should  be  applied  to  the  preservation  of  it." — F.  D. 
Maurice,  in  Religions  of  the  World,  p.  86. 


CONFUCIANISM.  245 

He  therefore  avoided  all  reference  to  God  and  eternal 
things.^  "  While  we  know  so  little  about  life,"  said  he 
to  one  of  his  disciples,  "  how  can  we  know  anything 
about  death  ?"  ^  He  would  not  allow  himself  to  indulge 
in  fruitless  dreams.  The  wrongs  and  tyrannies  in  the 
work-a-day  world  were  real.  Peace,  safety,  prosperity,  y 
these  were  substantial  blessings  to  be  sought  for  ancy 
enjoyed.  What  need  of  a  heaven  afar  off  if  by  these 
a  heaven  could  be  made  on  earth  ?  The  Chinese  people 
have  a  proverb  which  runs  in  this  wise : 

*'The  Buddhist  priests  declare  their  Fo  in  the  abyss  to  be; 
Say  Lao's  followers,  '  Paradise  lies  in  the  Eastern  Sea;' 
But  great  Confucius'  pupils  look  on  real  things  around: 
Before  their  eyes  the  airs  of  spring,  fresh  blowing,  brush  the  ground." 

The  Lao  referred  to  in  this  proverb  is  Laoutsee,  an 
old  man  who  believed  in  a  Supreme  Deity  and  was 
wont  to  philosophize  about  the  future.  To  him  Con- 
fucius listened  with  respectful  attention,  but  afterward 

^  "  What  he  heard  of  divine  unseen,  mysterious  powers  above  man 
or  above  nature,  or  even  in  man  and  in  nature,  of  some  thing  or 
person  beyond  the  earthly  emperor  or  the  earthly  father,  he  by  no  means 
denied.  Whatever  faith  his  countrymen  had  respecting  the  invisible 
world  he  would  have  wished  to  confirm.  But  he  did  not  see  his  way 
in  such  inquiries :  he  could  not  trace  the  actual  connection  between 
them  and  practical  life." — Religions  of  the  World,  p.  89. 

*  "On  the  subject  of  spirits,  as  on  all  matters  relating  to  heavenly 
beings,  Confucius  was  reticent.  His  mind  was  wrapt  up  in  the  things 
of  this  earth,  and  he  looked  upon  all  such  subjects  as  obscure  and  un- 
profitable. That  they  were  worthy  of  reverence  he  was  ready  to  aflSrm, 
but  he  considered  that  constant  reference  to  them  was  likely  to  lead  to 
superstition.  *  Spirits  are  to  be  respected,'  he  said,  *  but  to  be  kept  at  a 
distance ;'  and  in  reply  to  a  question  put  to  him  as  to  serving  the  spirits, 
he  answered,  '  While  you  are  not  able  to  serve  men,  how  can  you  serve 
their  spirits?'  " — Confucianism,  p.  81. 


\ 


246  T//E  RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

spoke  of  him  as  a  theorist,  a  transcendental  dreamer, 
who  might  better  draw  in  his  thoughts  from  misty  and 
remote  things  to  the  evils  nearer  by. 

"  WJiat  must  I  Do  to  be  Saved T' — The  answer  of 
'Confucius  to  the  question  "What  must  I  do  to  be 
saved  ?"  was,  "  Be  a  good  citizen  of  China." 

His  theory  of  government  was  patriarchal, "  the  em- 
bodiment of  filial  piety."  The  state  is  a  large  family, 
of  which  the  emperor  is  Tien-tze,  the  great  father  of 
all.  The  humblest  beggar  in  his  dominions  may  claim 
protection  as  his  child.  The  first  duty  of  every  citizen 
is  reverence  for  his  political  father;  his  second,  rever- 
ence for  his  father  in  the  flesh.  In  no  other  country 
on  earth  are  the  obligations  that  flow  from  filial  ties 
more  thoroughly  respected  than  in  China.  The  great 
commandment,  held  inviolate  by  mandarin  and  slave, 
is  this  :  Honor  thy  father.  Yet  this,  observe,  is  a  purely 
political  maxim.  There  is  no  sentiment  about  it.  The 
end  in  view  is  the  conservation  of  order  in  the  state.^ 
To  that  end  the  great  father,  Tien-tze,  and  all  other 
fathers — who  are  regarded  as  his  official  aids  in  secur- 
ing a  good  government — must  have  the  implicit  and 
unquestioning  obedience  of  every  child.^ 

1  "  He  taught  that  the  sovereign  was  the  father  of  his  people,  and  as 
such  entitled  to  the  same  obedience,  mingled  with  reverence,  which  is 
due  from  a  child  to  its  parent.  He  claimed  to  a  certain  degree  unlim- 
ited authority  for  the  sovereign  over  the  minister,  father  over  the  son, 
husband  over  the  wife,  elder  brother  over  younger,  and  he  enjoined 
kind  and  upright  dealings  among  friends,  thus  inculcating  as  his  leading 
tenets  subordination  to  superiors  and  virtuous  conduct." — Dr.  S.  Wells 
Williams,  in  Schaff-Herzog  Encyclopa:dia. 

2  "  In  reply  to  Tsze-chang's  question,  *  How  should  a  sovereign  act 


CONFUCIANISM.  247 

Worship  of  Ancestors. — Here  we  discover  the  source 
of  that  Chinese  phenomenon,  the  worship  of  ancestors. 
It  is  beheved  that  at  death  three  spirits  are  Hberated 
from  the  body ;  one  of  these  occupies  the  grave,  another 
seeks  the  invisible  world,  while  the  third  takes  up  its 
residence  in  a  memorial  tablet.^  Thus  every  home  has 
its  ancestral  tablets  bearing  the  names  of  the  honored 
dead.    Twice  a  month  with  tapers  and  burning  incense 

in  order  that  he  may  govern  properly  ?'  he  replied  :  *  Let  him  honor  the 
five  excellent  and  banish  the  four  bad  things.'  The  five  good  things 
are:  (i)  When  the  person  in  authority  is  beneficent  without  great  ex- 
penditure; that  is,  when  he  makes  more  beneficial  to  his  people  the 
things  from  which  they  naturally  derive  benefit.  (2)  When  he  lays 
tasks  on  the  people  without  their  repining ;  that  is,  when  he  chooses 
the  labors  which  are  proper  and  employs  them  on  them.  (3)  When  he 
pursues  what  he  desires  without  being  covetous;  that  is,  when  his  de- 
sires are  set  on  a  benevolent  government,  and  he  realizes  it,  (4)  When 
he  maintains  a  dignified  ease  without  being  proud;  that  is,  whether  he 
has  to  do  with  many  people  or  with  few,  or  with  great  things  or  with 
small,  he  does  not  dare  to  show  any  disrespect.  (5)  When  he  is 
majestic  without  being  fierce ;  that  is,  when  he  adjusts  his  clothes  and 
cap  and  throws  a  dignity  into  his  looks,  so  that,  thus  dignified,  he  is 
looked  at  with  awe.  The  four  bad  things  are:  (i)  To  put  the  people 
to  death  without  having  instructed  them;  this  is  called  cruelty.  (2)  To 
require  from  them  suddenly  the  full  tale  of  work  without  having  given 
them  warning;  this  is  called  oppression.  (3)  To  issue  orders  as  if 
without  urgency  at  first,  and  when  the  time  comes  to  insist  upon  them 
with  severity ;  this  is  called  injury.  (4)  And,  generally  speaking,  to 
give  pay  or  rewards  to  men,  and  yet  do  it  in  a  stingy  way ;  this  is  called 
acting  the  part  of  a  mere  official." — Confucianism,  pp.  136,  137. 

^  "  It  is  a  great  misfortune  for  a  Chinaman  to  die  in  a  foreign  land 
away  from  home,  for  then  he  is  deprived  of  the  benefits  of  the  offerings 
of  his  relatives  and  descendants.  We  see,  therefore,  why  it  is  that  the 
Chinese  in  California  send  home  the  bodies  of  their  countrymen  who 
die  there.  They  have  a  fund  for  that  purpose.  The  dead  would  take 
vengeance  upon  them  if  they  did  not  perform  the  filial  act." — C.  C. 
Coffin. 


248  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

the  inmates  of  the  home  bow  down  before  them.  This 
is  the  universal  custom  of  the  empire.  It  is  the  nat- 
ural outgrowth  of  the  patriarchal  idea  in  society  and 
the  state.  The  living  are  in  bondage  unto  the  dead. 
And  this  is  one  of  the  mighty  forces  used  in  uphold- 
ing and  perpetuating  the  government.  It  casts  a  halo 
of  superstitious  awe  around  the  names  oi  the  fore- 
fathers, and  gives  to  filial  reverence  the  highest  place 
among  the  virtues.  Thus  the  word  of  the  emperor, 
the  great  father,  becomes  as  the  oracles  of  God. 

II.  Veneration  for  Learning. — The  second  character- 
istic of  the  Chinese  religion  is  veneration  for  learning. 
This  necessarily  follows  the  proposition  of  Confucius 
that  a  political  reformation  could  be  accomplished 
only  by  returning  to  the  wisdom  of  the  former  ages. 
The  compilation  of  the  sacred  books  was  the  imme- 
diate result  of  that  thought.  There  are  nine  of  these 
books. 

The  Sacred  Books. — (I.)  The  Five  King,  or  canonical 
volumes. 

1.  The  Shu-king,  or  Book  of  Ancient  History,  giving 
the  history  of  China  from  the  earliest  times  to  720  b.  c. 

2.  The  Shi-king,  or  Book  of  Ancient  Poems,  com- 
prising three  hundred  and  eighty-five  odes.  The  fol- 
lowing, translated  by  Dr.  Legge,  will  serve  as  an  ex- 
ample ;  it  is  entitled  "  A  Pastoral  Ode :  an  industrious 
wife  awakens  her  husband  at  early  dawn :" 

"  '  Get  up,  husband,  here's  the  day  !' 

•  Not  yet,  wife,  the  dawn's  still  gray.' 

*  Get  up,  sir,  and  on  the  right 

See  the  morning  star  shines  bright. 


CONFUCIANISM.  249 

Shake  off  slumber,  and  prepare 
Ducks  and  geese  to  shoot  and  snare. 

'  All  your  darts  and  lines  may  kill 
I  will  dress  for  you  with  skill. 
Thus  a  blithesome  hour  we'll  pass, 
Brightened  by  a  cheerful  glass, 
While  your  lute  its  aid  imparts. 
To  gratify  and  soothe  our  hearts.'  " 

3.  The  Li-king,  or  Book  of  Ancient  Rites  and  Cere- 
monies, containing  rules  of  conduct  for  all  occasions. 
This  book  is  the  Chinese  standard  of  etiquette.     It  was 
the  uniform  custom  of  Confucius  to  lay  great  stress  on 
the  importance  of  decorum,  which  he  himself  illus- 
trated in  all  his  actions.     *'  He  did  all,"  says  Professor, 
Douglas,  "  with  the  avowed  object  of  being  seen  of  men  \ 
and  of  influencing  them  by  his  conduct.     In  the  pres- 
ence of  his  prince  we  are  told  that  his  manner,  though 
self-possessed,  displayed  respectful  uneasiness.     When 
he  entered  the  palace  or  when  he  passed  the  vacant  y 
throne  his  countenance  changed,  his  legs  bent  under    \ 
him  and  he  spoke  as  though  he  had  scarcely  breath  to    \ 
utter  a  word.    When  it  fell  to  his  lot  to  carry  the  royal 
sceptre  he  stooped  his  body,  as  though  he  were  not 
able  to  bear  its  weight.     If  the  prince  came  to  visit 
him  when  he  was  ill,  he  had  himself  placed  with  his 
head  to  the  east,  and  lay  dressed  in  his  court-clothes/ 
with  his  girdle  across  them." 

4.  The  Yih-king,  or  Book  of  Changes,  relating  par- 
ticularly to  divination  and  similar  mystic  arts.  "  This 
book,"  says  Alexander  F.  Tytler,  "  which  has  been  held 
as  a  mysterious  receptacle  of  the  most  profound  know- 


250      THE  RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

ledge,  and  is  on  that  account  allowed  to  be  consulted 
only  by  the  sect  of  the  learned,  is  now  known  to  be 
nothing  else  than  a  superstitious  and  childish  device 
for  fortune-telling  or  divination.  It  is  a  table  on  which 
there  are  sixty-four  marks  or  lines,  one  half  short  and 
the  other  half  long,  placed  at  regular  intervals.  The 
person  who  consults  the  Yih-king  for  divining  some 
future  event  takes  a  number  of  small  pieces  of  rod, 
and,  throwing  them  down  at  random,  observes  care- 
fully how  their  accidental  position  corresponds  to  the 
marks  on  the  table,  from  which,  according  to  certain 
established  rules,  he  predicts  either  good  or  bad  for- 
tune. 

5.  The  Chun-tsiu,  or  Spring  and  Autumn,  so  called 
because,  as  Confucius  says,  "  its  commendations  are 
life-giving  as  the  spring  and  its  censures  life-wnthering 
as  autumn."  It  is  a  record  of  political  events  from  720 
to  480  B.  c. 

(II.)  TJic  Four  Shoo^  or  writings.  These  are  collec- 
tions of  the  wisdom  of  Confucius  and  his  disciples. 

I.  The  Lun-Yu ;  Analects,  or  Table-talk  of  Con- 
fucius. The  following  extracts  will  serve  to  illustrate 
the  character  of  this  volume : 

"  The  Master  saith.  Shall  I  teach  you  what  know- 
ledge is  ?  When  you  know  a  thing,  to  maintain  that 
you  know  it,  and  when  you  do  not  know  it,  to  confess 
your  ignorance, — this  is  knowledge." — "  With  coarse 
rice  to  eat,  water  to  drink  and  my  bended  arm  for  a 
pillow  I  may  be  happy  ;  but  riches  and  honor  without 
virtue  are  as  a  floating  cloud." — "  Extravagance  leads 
to  insubordination,  and  parsimony  to  meanness." 


CONFUCIANISM.  25 1 

2.  The  Ta-Hio,  or  Great  Learning,  by  Tsang-Sin,  a 
disciple.  The  following  is  an  example  :  "  The  ancients 
who  sought  to  establish  virtue  throughout  the  empire 
began  by  ordering  well  their  own  estates.  Wishing  to 
establish  virtue  in  the  state,  they  began  by  regulating 
their  own  household.  Wishing  to  establish  virtue  in 
the  household,  they  began  by  looking  to  themselves. 
Wishing  to  cultivate  their  individual  characters,  they 
began  by  rectifying  their  hearts." 

3.  The  Chung-Yung,  or  Doctrine  of  the  Mean.  The 
following  is  an  extract :  "  The  Master  saith,  Perfect  is 
the  virtue  which  is  according  to  The  Mean.  How  rare 
have  been  the  people  who  could  practice  it !" — "  If  there 
be  no  stirrings  of  joy  or  anger,  grief  or  pleasure,  the 
mind  is  in  Equilibrium.  If  those  feelings  be  awakened 
to  act  in  due  proportion,  the  mind  is  in  Harmony.  This 
Equilibrium  is  the  root  of  human  action,  and  this  Har- 
mony is  the  proper  path  for  all." 

4.  The  Works  of  Mencius,  the  Master's  most  illus- 
trious disciple.  The  following  will  illustrate  the  gen- 
eral character  of  this  book :  "  Mencius  said,  The  per- 
fect fruit  of  benevolence  is  the  service  of  one's  parents ; 
of  righteousness,  the  service  of  one's  elder  brother ; 
and  of  wisdom,  the  service  of  those  two  things  and 
abiding  in  them." — "  I  love  life  and  I  love  righteous- 
ness. If  I  cannot  have  both,  I  will  let  life  go  and 
choose  righteousness." 

These  volumes  are,  for  the  most  part,  in  prose, 
monotonous,  sombre,  gray,  with  neither  freshness  nor 
life.  To  us  Anglo-Saxons,  who  have  mercury  in  our 
veins,  the  proverbs  of  the  most  sagely  ancient  teacher 


252      THE  RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD, 

t<  and  his  sublimely  wise  disciples  are  as  dull  as  an  alma- 
nac ;  but  the  Mongolian  sits  hour  after  hour  upon  his 
bamboo  mat  following  the  lines  with  his  long  finger- 
nails, his  eyes  half  closed,  oblivious  of  the  bustling 
world,  murmuring  over  and  over  again  the  celestial 
words. 

For  two  thousand  years  or  more  these  sacred  vol- 
umes have  been  the  substratum  of  Chinese  literature. 
They  are  the  principal  textbooks  in  all  institutions  of 
learning.  There  is  no  possibility  of  political  prefer- 
ment without  a  thorough  familiarit}^  with  The  Five 
King  and  The  Four  Shoo.  The  literati  are  the  ruling 
class.  There  is  no  promotion  except  for  scholarship. 
Once  in  three  years  there  is  an  examination  of  candi- 
dates for  degrees.  No  student  can  be  entered  as  a 
candidate  unless  he  has  previously  studied  the  whole 
system  of  Confucius.  The  successful  competitors  in 
the  course  of  time  become  the  rulers  of  the  empire.^ 
Thus  it  is  evident  that  China,  commonly  regarded  as  a 
monarchy,  is  really  an  aristocracy — an  aristocracy  of 
\  learning.  We,  in  their  eyes,  are  barbarians  because  of 
j  the  light  value  we  put  upon  scholarship.  Ours,  they 
say,  is  an  aristocracy  of  birth  or  of  riches — that  is,  of 
accident — but  theirs  is  an  aristocracy  of  worth.     Here, 

1  "  The  bachelors,  or  those  who  are  successful,  are  triennially  sent  for 
renewed  examination  in  the  provincial  capital  before  two  examiners 
deputed  from  the  general  board  of  public  education.  The  licentiates, 
thus  sifted  out,  now  offer  themselves  for  final  examination  before  the 
imperial  board  at  Pekin.  Suitable  candidates  for  vacant  posts  are  thus 
selected.  There  is  no  one  who  is  not  liable  to  such  an  inquisition. 
When  vacancies  occur  they  are  filled  from  the  list  of  approved  men, 
who  are  gradually  elevated  to  the  highest  honors," — Draper's  Intel- 
lectual Development  of  Europe,  ii.  396. 


CONFUCIANISM.  253 

indeed,  Is  something  for  us  to  learn  from  the  people 
of  far  Cathay. 

III.  Consen>atism. — The  third  characteristic  of  this 
religion  is  conservatism.  It  is  scarcely  strange  that  a 
nation  sitting  at  the  feet  of  Confucius  should  wrap 
itself  up  in  a  complacent  aversion  to  progress,  for  his 
favorite  precept  was,  "  Walk  in  the  trodden  paths." 
China  has  been  at  a  standstill  for  twenty  centuries.  It 
is  the  only  land  on  earth  of  which  it  cannot  be  said, 

"  The  old  order  changeth,  giving  place  to  new. 
And  God  fulfills  himself  in  many  ways, 
Lest  one  good  custom  should  corrupt  the  world." 

No  Progress. — "  In  China,"  it  has  been  significantly 
said,  "  whatever  is  gray  with  age  becomes  religion." 
Other  nations  have  learned  to  worship  the  rising  sun, 
but  Confucius  stood  with  his  face  toward  the  past, 
teaching  his  followers  to  revere  whatever  is  old  and 
dead.  The  language  of  China  is  written  in  square 
characters  just  as  it  was  twenty  centuries  ago.  The 
people  dress  as  they  did  then.     Innovation  is  treason.* 

1  "  It  will  be  seen  that  in  government,  as  with  everything  else,  Con- 
fucius strove  with  all  his  might  to  carry  his  countrymen  back  to  the 
ideal  times  of  Kings  Wan  and  Woo.  He  refused  to  recognize  the 
changes  which  were  foreshadowed  by  the  growth  of  new  and  vigorous 
states  and  by  the  decrepitude  of  the  imperial  kingdom  of  Chow,  and 
attempted  to  bolster  up  that  which  was  already  falling  to  pieces,  and  to 
suppress  the  aspirations  of  those  who,  as  must  have  been  obvious  to 
eveiy  one  but  himself,  were  destined  to  fight  for  the  mastery  over  the 
ruins  of  the  royal  house.  The  sum  of  his  teachings  may  be  described 
in  his  own  words :  *  Follow  the  seasons  of  Hea.  Ride  in  the  state 
chariots  of  Yin.  Wear  the  ceremonial  cap  of  Chow.  Let  the  music 
be  the  Shaou,  with  its  pantomimes.  Banish  the  songs  of  Ch'ing  and  keep 
far  from  specious  talkers.'  " — Confucianis??i,  pp.  138,  139. 


254  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

One  of  the  Manchu  emperors  recently  sent  out  an 
edict  against  the  binding  of  the  feet,  but  the  low  mut- 
terings  of  an  insurrection  forced  him  to  withdraw  it. 
A  strip  of  land  between  Shanghai  and  Woo-Sung  was 
bought  up  some  years  ago  by  foreign  residents,  who 
proceeded  to  build  a  railway  between  those  points  ;  but 
the  government  of  Peking  tore  it  up.  Thus  the  whole 
policy  of  the  state  is  repressive — to  stand  still,  to  abide 
among  the  sepulchres  of  ancient  days,  poring  over  the 
parchments  of  the  sages. 

"  In  arts,  in  manners,  in  the  physical  features  of  its 
inhabitants,  in  mental  and  moral  portraiture,  in  lan- 
guage and  in  religion,  China  has  been  of  all  lands  the 
most  untouched  by  time.  It  has  resisted  alike  the  in- 
roads of  matter  and  of  mind.  Like  other  countries,  it 
has  been  subjected  to  the  incursions  and  the  conquests 
of  barbarians,  but,  in  a  manner  unknown  to  other  coun- 
tries, it  has  assimilated  its  conquerors  to  its  own  civili- 
zation. It  has  been  subjected  to  spiritual  invasion ; 
foreign  religions,  like  foreign  tribes,  have  tried  to  settle 
on  its  soil.  But  here,  too,  the  result  has  been  the 
same :  the  old  Confucian  faith  has  not  forbidden  the 
advent  of  the  new,  but  it  has  gradually  succeeded  in 
drawing  it  nearer  to  itself.  A  civilization  which  has 
thus  been  able  not  only  to  resist  new  temporal  in- 
fluences, but  eventually  to  appropriate  these  influences 
to  itself,  most  certainly  presents  a  spectacle  of  con- 
servatism which  is  unique  in  the  history  of  the  world."  * 

Not  Properly  a  Religion. — These,  then,  are  the  three 
distinguishing  features  of  Confucianism  :    filial  piety, 

*  The  Faiths  of  the  World,  p.  63. 


CONFUCIANISM.  255 

reverence  for  learning  and  conservatism.  The  reader 
has,  without  doubt,  come  to  the  conclusion  that  there 
is  little  or  nothing  of  religion  in  this  system.  The 
word  "  religion  "  is  best  taken  in  its  original  sense,  *'  a 
binding  back,"  the  thought  being  of  a  restoration  of 
the  soul  to  the  everlasting  truth  and  love  of  God.  But 
Confucianism  points  no  higher  than  a  man's  head.  It 
practically  says,  "  A  principle  of  order  is  the  one  thing 
worthy  of  reverence ;  we  can  dispense  with  God."  ^  It 
has  been  justly  called  a  prosaic  belief  dignified  with 
the  name  of  a  religion.  It  may  be  remarked,  in  pass- 
ing, as  a  most  singular  circumstance,  that  a  philosophy 
whose  very  life  is  in  the  patriarchal  idea  should  wholly 
omit  to  reverence  or  even  recognize  Him  who  is  Abba, 
the  Father  of  all. 

There  is,  however,  a  solitary  spot  in  China  where 
homage  is  paid  to  the  Deity.  Near  by  the  city  of 
Peking  is  a  temple  over  whose  gateway  is  inscribed, 
"  To  the  Supreme  Ruler  of  the  Universe."  Once  every 
year  with  magnificent  parade  the  emperor  comes  hither 
alone  and  offers  a  bullock  on  the  altar.  But  the  people  \ 
have  no  part  nor  lot  in  this  ceremony.  They  are  lit- 
erally "without  God,"  yet  not  without  gods. 

Popular  Idolatry. — Polytheism  is  ever  the  boon  com- 
panion of  atheism.  The  multitudes  of  the  people,  while 
professing  Confucianism,  do  not  hesitate  to  patronize 
at  the  same  time  the  shrines  of  Buddhism  and  Taoism. 

1  "  It  has  been  questioned  whether  Confucius  even  did  not  doubt  the 
existence  of  a  divine  Power,  and  regard  the  universe  as  a  vast  self-sus- 
taining mechanism;  but  he  undoubtedly  gave  occasion  to  his  disciples 
for  such  a  belief  by  his  silence  upon  the  subject  and  his  use  of  the 
indefinite  term  '  heaven.' " — S.  Wells  Williams. 


256      THE   RELIGIONS  OF   THE    WORLD. 

Therefore,  though  their  great  master  taught  them  to 
worship  nothing,  the  empire  swarms  with  gods. 

Results. — What  are  the  results  ?  What  are  the  practi- 
cal fruits  of  Confucianism  in  this  populous  empire 
where  it  has  prevailed  for  these  two  thousand  years? 

1.  No  Independence  of  Thought. — Its  first  effect  is 
seen  in  an  utter  absence  of  independent,  progressive 
thought.  The  people  of  China  have  so  long  been  read- 
ing the  dull,  iterative  maxims  of  the  sages  that  their 
minds  are  benumbed.  Not  even  the  most  venturesome 
thinker  dares  to  pass  beyond  "  the  established  bound- 
ary-line of  precedent."  Their  ideas  are  rusty  and 
mildewed,  and,  like  their  faces,  their  houses  and  their 
junks,  are  all  made  after  one  pattern.  They  are  doing^ 
as  Confucius  bade  them,  walking  in  the  old  paths. 

2.  No  Ambition. — It  has  killed  hope  and  ambition 
and  all  the  nobler  impulses  of  the  heart.  For  Con- 
fucianism is  a  low  form  of  materialism  ;  it  cuts  the  soul's 
wings.  The  inhabitants  of  China  are  a  sordid  race. 
They  are  taught  in  the  sacred  books  that  the  seat  of 
the  understanding  is  the  stomach ;  and  their  lives  are 
passed,  accordingly,  in  toiling  for  meat  that  perisheth. 

"  To  be  content's  their  natural  desire  ; 
They  ask  no  angel's  wings  nor  seraph's  fire." 

The  career  of  their  great  teacher  is  their  ideal  of 
life.  **  At  fifteen,"  he  says,  "  I  had  my  mind  bent  upon 
learning ;  at  thirty  I  stood  firm  ;  at  fifty  I  knew  the 
celestial  decrees ;  at  seventy  I  kept  the  law." 

3.  No  Good  Cheer. — The  people  of  China  rarely  sing: 
they  know  nothing  of  romance ;  the  golden  glow  of 


CONFUCIANISM.  257 

life  has  been  supplanted  by  plain  matt^  of  fact.  Their 
religion  has  made  them  a  race  of  'WailSmeri  and 
coolies,  dull,  plodding  and  as  heedless  of  eternity  as 
moles.  There  is  a  mighty  truth  in  the  old  fable  of 
Prometheus ;  the  fires  that  give  brightness  and  fervor 
to  human  life  must  be  brought  down  from  God.  And 
if  there  be  no  God  ?  Then  there  can  be  no  light,  no 
burning  of  the  soul  with  eager  longings,  no  life  beyond 
one's  tools  and  daily  bread.  Thus  it  is  said  of  the  dis- 
ciples of  Confucius  that  all  stars  shine  to  them  in  the 
heavens  behind ;  none  beckon  before.  Verily,  "  a 
hundred  years  "  of  our  Anglo-Saxon  hope  and  vigor 
are  worth  "a  cycle  of  Cathay." 

4.  No  Common  Morality. — And  what  has  been  the 
result  of  this  system  on  the  outward  morals  of  China  ? 
It  is  the  land  of  the  opium-smoker,  that  lowest  and  most 
bestial  of  inebriates.  It  is  the  land  of  infanticide ;  for 
**  What  is  the  good,"  they  say,  "  of  rearing  daughters  ?" 
It  is  the  land  of  concubinage  and  slavery.  Woman  is 
not  the  helpmate,  but  the  slave,  of  man.  Confucius 
thought  it  an  unpardonable  weakness  to  bemoan  the 
death  of  his  faithful  wife ;  she  was  only  a  woman.^     It 

^  "  He  (Confucius)  permits  divorce  for  any  one  of  seven  reasons  : 
*  When  a  woman  cannot  live  in  peace  with  her  father-in-law  or  mother- 
in-law;  when  she  cannot  bear  children;  when  she  is  unfaithful;  when, 
by  the  utterance  of  calumnies  or  indiscreet  words,  she  disturbs  the  peace 
of  the  house ;  when  her  husband  has  for  her  an  unconquerable  repug- 
nance ;  when  she  is  an  inveterate  scold ;  when  she  steals  anything  from 
her  husband's  house,' — in  any  of  these  cases  her  husband  may  put  her 
away." — Cyclopedia  of  Biography,  p.  418. 

"  The  failure  to  recognize  the  sanctity  of  the  marriage  bond  is  a  great 
blot  in  the  Confucian  system.  It  has  in  a  great  measure  destroyed  do- 
mesticity, it  has  robbed  women  of  their  lawful  influence,  and  has 
17 


258  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

has  been  said  that  the  life  of  a  Chinese  woman  is  a 
continuous  wail  from  her  cradle  to  her  grave.  This — 
though  the  five  sacred  books  were  flawless,  and  though 
the  schools  were  a  thousandfold  more  numerous  than 
they  are — would  stamp  the  Chinese  Empire  as  a  bar- 
barous land. 

Of  all  the  nations  of  the  earth,  China  affords  the 
best  illustration  of  the  inadequacy  of  a  written  code 
of  morals.^     The  man  who  would  live  up  to  the  pre- 

degraded  them  into  a  position  which  is  little  better  than  slavery.  '  Men, 
being  firm  by  nature,'  said  Seun-tsze,  *  are  virtuous,  and  women,  being 
soft,  are  useful.'  This  saying  justly  represents  the  estimate  commonly 
held  of  the  relative  standing  of  the  two  sexes.'' — Conft{cianis??i,^.  128. 
"  A  slavish  submission  is  a  woman's  highest  duty,  and  no  better 
description  can  be  given  of  the  various  fates  awaiting  sons  and  daugh- 
ters than  that  quoted  from  the  Book  of  Poetry,  where  the  poet  forecasts 
the  future  of  King  Seuen  : 

*  Sons  shall  be  his  (the  king's)  ;  on  couches  lulled  to  rest 

The  little  ones,  enrobed,  with  sceptres  play ; 
Their  infant  cries  are  loud  as  stern  behests ; 

Their  knees  the  vermeil  covers  shall  display. 
As  king  hereafter  one  shall  be  addressed; 

The  rest,  our  princes,  all  the  states  shall  sway. 
And  daughters  also  to  him  shall  be  born : 

They  shall  be  placed  upon  the  ground  to  sleep; 
Their  playthings  tiles,  their  dress  the  simplest  worn  ; 

Their  part  alike  from  good  and  ill  to  keep, 
And  ne'er  their  parent's  heart  to  cause  to  mourn — 

To  cook  his  food  and  spirit  malt  to  keep.'  " 

Ibid.,  pp.  124,  125. 

1  Toward  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century  the  emperor  K'ang-he 
issued  sixteen  maxims,  founded  on  the  teachings  of  the  sage,  for  the 
guidance  of  the  people,  whose  morality  "  had  for  some  time  been  daily 
declining,  and  whose  hearts  were  not  as  of  old."  He  summed  up,  as  it 
were,  all  the  essential  points  in  the  Confucian  doctrine,  and  thus  he 
wrote : 


CONFUCIANISM.  259 

cepts  of  Confucius  would  be,  indeed,  a  "  superior  man."  ^ 
But  there  is  apparently  no  endeavor  to  adjust  the  life 

"  I.  Esteem  most  highly  filial  piety  and  brotherly  submission,  in  order 
to  give  due  prominence  to  the  social  relations. 

"  2.  Behave  with  generosity  to  the  branches  of  your  kindred,  in  order 
to  illustrate  harmony  and  benignity. 

"  3.  Cultivate  peace  and  concord  in  your  neighborhoods,  in  order  to 
prevent  quarrels  and  litigations. 

"  4.  Recognize  the  importance  of  husbandry  and  the  culture  of  the 
mulberry  tree,  in  order  to  ensure  a  sufficiency  of  clothing  and  food. 

"  5.  Show  that  you  prize  moderation  and  economy,  in  order  to  pre- 
vent the  lavish  waste  of  your  means, 

"  6.  Make  much  of  the  colleges  and  seminaries,  in  order  to  make 
correct  the  practice  of  the  scholars. 

"  7.  Discountenance  and  banish  strange  doctrines,  in  order  to  exalt 
the  correct  doctrine. 

"  8.  Describe  and  explain  the  laws,  in  order  to  warn  the  ignorant  and 
obstinate. 

*'  9.  Exhibit  clearly  propriety  and  yielding  courtesy,  in  order  to  make 
manners  and  customs  good. 

"  10.  Labor  diligently  at  your  proper  callings,  in  order  to  give  settle- 
ment to  the  aims  of  the  people. 

"II.  Instruct  your  sons  and  younger  brothers,  in  order  to  prevent 
them  from  doing  what  is  wrong. 

"  12.  Put  a  stop  to  false  accusations,  in  order  to  protect  the  honest 
and  the  good. 

"  13.  Warn  against  sheltering  deserters,  in  order  to  avoid  being  in- 
volved in  their  punishments. 

"  14.  Promptly  and  fully  pay  your  taxes,  in  order  to  avoid  the  urgent 
requisition  of  your  quota. 

"15.  Combine  in  hundreds  and  tithings,  in  order  to  put  an  end  to 
thefts  and  robbery. 

"  16.  Study  to  remove  resentments  and  angry  feelings,  in  order  to 
show  the  importance  due  to  the  person  and  life." — Confucianism,  pp.     ; 
167-199.  / 

1  "  '  The  superior  man  forms  a  leading  feature  in  the  Confucian  phil- 
osophy. Nine  things  he  strove  after :  in  seeing  to  see  clearly,  in  hear- 
ing to  hear  distinctly,  in  expression  to  be  benign,  in  his  demeanor  to  be 
decorous,  in  speaking  to  be  sincere,  in  his  duties  to  be  respectful,  in 


260      THE  RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

to  such  teachings.  One  who  has  long  labored  as  a 
missionary  in  China  says  :  "  The  literati,  among  whom 
we  might  expect  to  find  a  pure  morality  if  anywhere, 
are  inveterately  addicted  to  lying,  treachery  and  extor- 
tion. Among  the  rulers  justice  is  unknown.  Bribery 
and  oppression  constitute  the  universal  practice  among 
the  officials  of  every  grade.  Avariciousness  sways  the 
heart  of  all  classes.  There  is  no  mode  of  deception 
and  fraud,  no  trick  nor  art  in  trade,  no  quacker}^  and 
no  jugglery,  in  which  the  Chinese  are  not  perfect 
adepts.  Deception  and  lying  are  so  common  that 
they  have  almost  lost  the  consciousness  that  they  are 
wrong.  Backbiting  and  quarreling,  slandering  and 
cursing,  intrigues  and  broils,  are  universal.  Pilfering 
and  theft,  extortion,  robbery  and  piracy,  suicide,  infant- 
icide and  murder,  lotteries  and  gambling-shops,  opium- 
doubt  to  inquire,  in  resentment  to  think  of  difficulties,  when  he  saw  an 
opportunity  for  gain  to  think  of  righteousness.  Three  things  he  avoided  : 
in  youth,  when  the  physical  powers  are  not  settled,  he  avoided  lust;  in 
manhood,  when  the  physical  powers  are  in  full  vigor,  he  avoided  quar- 
relsomeness; in  old  age,  when  the  animal  powers  are  decayed,  he 
avoided  covetousness. 

"  The  superior  man  was  righteous  in  all  his  ways  ;  his  acts  were 
guided  by  the  laws  of  propriety  and  were  marked  by  strict  sincerity. 
Being  without  reproach,  he  was  also  without  fear,  and,  having  studied 
deeply,  his  mind  was  untroubled  by  doubt  or  misgiving.  Nothing  put 
him  out  of  countenance,  for  wisdom,  humanity  and  valor  were  his  con- 
stant companions.  Of  the  ordinances  of  Heaven,  of  great  men  and 
the  word  of  sages  he  alone  stood  in  respectful  awe,  and  this  not  out  of 
servility,  but  because  he  possessed  sufficient  knowledge  to  comprehend 
the  wisdom  embodied  in  those  powers.  Mere  eloquence  had  no  effect 
upon  him,  and  he  was  careless  about  the  animal  comforts  of  this  life. 
He  laughed  at  want,  for  his  aims  were  directed  toward  '  the  heavenly 
way,'  not  toward  eating;  and  for  the  same  reason  wealth  and  poverty 
\were  not  causes  of  anxiety  to  him."' — Confucianism,  pp.  88,  89. 


CONFUCIANISM.  26 1 

dens,  are  common  everywhere."  A  missionary  of  the 
Enghsh  Church  says :  "  Romans  ch.  i  and  Ephesians 
ch.  4  apply  fully  to  the  Chinese.  Their  great  idol- 
atrous gatherings  in  the  city,  and  especially  in  the 
country  districts,  are  accompanied  by  wickedness  of 
every  kind.  They  are  a  much  worse  people  than  they 
look."  1 

All  this  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  Confucianism 
avows  itself  to  be  distinctly  a  moral  system.  Con-^ 
fucius  taught  the  Golden  Rule  in  the  negative  form : 
"  What  you  do  not  like  when  done  to  yourself,  do 
not  that  to  others."^  The  five  cardinal  virtues  of 
his  system  are — (i)  Benevolence,  (2)  Duty,  (3)  De4 
corum,  (4)  Knowledge,  and  (5)  Faith.  But  morality  is 
a  dead  thing  if  piety  has  not  quickened  it,  and  moral, 
precepts,  however  wise  and  good,  can  take  no  vital 
hold  on  a  people  who  decline  to  think  of  God. 

We  must  judge  Confucianism  by  its  fruits.  Of  all 
the  false  religions,  none  is  more  deadening  in  its  in- 
fluence on  the  moral  nature.  Between  two  systems 
so  radically  unlike  as  Confucianism  and  Christianity  it 
is  scarcely  possible  to  institute  a  comparison.  The 
latter  is  a  religion  binding  back  the  soul  to  God ;  the 

1  Presbyterian  Foreign  Missionary  Magazine,  Feb.,  1874. 

2  "  It  does  not  seem  to  us  that  in  uttering  this  precept  Confucius  really 
rose  above  his  usual  governmental  theory — really  meant  to  suggest  more 
than  a  law  for  the  well-being  of  the  state.  The  thought  in  his  mind 
was  probably  this :  If  you  do  evil  to  others,  you  may  be  sure  they  will 
retaliate  on  yourself  the  same  form  of  evil,  for  revenge  in  kind  of  in- 
jury is  an  instinct  of  humanity.  Such  retaliations  can  end  in  nothing 
but  political  anarchy  ;  avoid  them  for  the  sake  of  good  government, 
and  in  order  to  avoid  them  shun  that  which  may  cause  them." — Faiths 
of  the  World,  p.  72. 


262  THE   RELIGIONS  OF   THE    WORLD. 

former  Is  a  code  of  secular  maxims  and  injunctions 
having  for  its  only  ends  the  well-being  of  society  and 
the  state.  The  one  bids  us  look  up  and  away  to  those 
things  which  are  unseen  and  eternal ;  the  other  absorbs 
all  thought  and  effort  in  the  present  hour.  The  one, 
as  with  a  two-edged  sword,  lays  bare  the  soul's  defile- 
ment, then  points  to  Calvary  and  the  flowing  blood  that 
cleanseth ;  the  other  finds  sin  a  dark,  inevitable  fact, 
and  says,  "  There  is  no  remedy ;  the  dying  must  die." 
No  remedy  ?  No  help  ?  Lord,  deliver  us  from  a 
philosophy  of  despair,  and  help  us  ever  more  and  more 
to  love  the  glorious  gospel  which  giveth  hope  as  an 
anchor  to  the  soul  both  sure  and  steadfast,  taking  hold 
of  that  within  the  veil. 


IX. 

ISLAM. 


I.    The  Sacred  Books :  The  Koran. 
II.   Theology  :  The  Creed. 

( 1 )  There  is  One  God. 

Central  Thota^ht :  Kismet. 

(2)  Mohammed  is  his  Prophet. 

The  teachings  of  Mohammed  in  respect  to  sin, 
death,  resurrection,  judgment,  heaven,  hell,  etc. 

III.  Ethics  :  A  Ceremonial  System. 

•*  What  shall  I  do  to  be  saved  f     Observe  the  Five  Pillars 
of  Practice. 

IV.  Jurisprudetice  :  A  Politico-religious  System. 

War,  Slavery,  Polygamy,  etc. 
V.  Fruits  of  the  System:  Sensuality,  Cruelty,  etc. 


IX.  ISLAM. 

The  Kaaba. — When  Adam  and  Eve  were  expelled 
from  Paradise  they  came  in  their  wanderings  to  the 
edge  of  the  Arabian  desert — so  runs  the  tradition — 
and  there  built  the  Kaaba  in  precise  imitation  of  the 
temple  wherein  they  had  worshiped  in  the  Garden.  It 
was  subsequently  swept  away  by  the  Flood,  but  an 
angel  revealed  its  site  to  Hagar  and  Ishmael,  who 
quenched  their  thirst  at  its  well  Zem-Zem.  A  neigh- 
boring tribe  of  Amalekites,  attracted  by  the  waters, 
pitched  their  tents  there  and  called  the  settlement 
Mecca.  They  strengthened  the  hands  of  Ishmael  in 
the  rebuilding  of  the  Kaaba,  and  to  their  assistance 
came  the  angel  Gabriel,  bringing  from  Paradise  a  semi- 
circular stone  which  to  this  day  reposes  in  an  outer 
corner  of  the  wall,  smoothed  and  blackened  by  the 
devout  kisses  of  sinful  men. 

Birth  of  Mohammed. — In  the  Year  of  the  Elephant, 
A.  D.  570,  there  was  joy  in  the  house  of  the  venerable 
Abdallah,  the  custodian  of  this  black  stone.  A  child 
was  born  who,  opening  his  eyes  to  the  light,  was  heard 
distinctly  to  exclaim,  ''  God  is  great,  and  I  am  his 
prophet !"  The  air  was  full  of  portents.  The  sacred 
fire  of  Zoroaster,  which  had  been  jealously  guarded 
for  centuries,  was  extinguished  by  the  dawning  of  the 

265 


266      THE  RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

brighter  light.  The  evil  spirits  betook  themselves  to 
the  abyss  of  darkness.  In  due  time  the  child  received 
the  name  Mohammed,  *'  the  praised."  At  three  years 
of  age  he  experienced  what  might  be  called  a  change 
of  heart,  the  angel  Gabriel  opening  his  breast  and 
squeezing  out  the  black  drop  of  sin.  Left  motherless 
at  six,  he  fell  into  a  habit  of  brooding  and  grew 
morbidly  fond  of  silence  and  solitude.  He  suffered, 
moreover,  from  some  malady — probably  epilepsy  or 
hysteria — which  rendered  his  mind  peculiarly  impress- 
ible. In  early  manhood  he  was  employed  as  camel- 
driver  by  a  rich  merchant's  widow,  Hadijah,  who, 
enamored  of  his  manly  beauty,  became  his  wife.  Her 
wealth  exalted  him  among  the  noble  sons  of  Ishmael, 
and  for  her  conjugal  devotion  she  was  given  an  im- 
mortal place  among  the  four  perfect  women.  In  lead- 
ing her  caravans  he  came  into  contact  with  the  Jewish 
and  Christian  communities  of  Arabia,  thus  acquiring  a 
limited  knowledge  of  their  Scriptures  and  traditions, 
which  he  afterward  put  to  a  most  effective  use. 

Descent  of  the  Koran. — At  the  age  of  forty  he  re- 
tired to  a  cave  in  the  desert,  three  miles  from  Mecca, 
where  he  dreamed  strange  dreams  and  saw  wonderful 
visions.^    One  night  Gabriel  appeared  before  him  hold- 

1  "  He  was  visited  by  supernatural  appearances,  mysterious  voices 
accosting  hirn  as  the  Prophet  of  God  :  even  the  stones  and  trees  joined 
in  the  whispering.  He  himself  suspected  the  true  nature  of  his  malady, 
and  to  his  wife  Chadizah  he  expressed  a  dread  that  he  was  becoming 
insane.  It  is  related  that  as  they  sat  alone  a  shadow  entered  the  room. 
*'  Dost  thou  see  aught?'  said  Chadizah,  who,  after  the  manner  of  Ara- 
bian matrons,  wore  her  veil.  '  I  do,'  said  the  prophet.  Whereupon 
she  uncovered  her  face,  and  said,  '  Dost  thou  see  it  now  ?' — '  I  do  not.' 


ISLAM.  267 

ing  a  silken  scroll  and  commanding  him  to  read  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord.  Mohammed  answered  that  he  had 
never  learned  to  read ;  whereupon  the  angel  shook  him- 
thrice,  uttered  certain  cabalistic  words,  and,  lo !  the  in- 
scription became  clear  as  light.  This  is  known  as  the 
prophet's  "call."  The  words  uttered  by  the  angel 
were  these: 

"Read !  in  the  name  of  thy  Lord :  in  the  name  of  the  Lord, 
Who  created  man  from  a  drop  of  congealed  blood. 
Read !  for  the  Lord  is  the  generous  One 
Who  hath  given  the  Writing, 
And  teacheth  the  ignorant  to  read  it." 

This  writing  on  the  silken  scroll  was  the  first  install- 
ment of  the  Koran,  the  heaven-sent  Book.  At  the 
conclusion  of  his  interview  with  the  angel  the  face 
of  Mohammed  was  of  a  ghastly  hue  and  covered  with 
perspiration  like  beads  of  silver,  his  ears  were  filled 
with  the  sound  of  bells  and  his  limbs  trembled  under 
him.  In  his  desperation  he  was  about  to  commit  suicide 
when,  faithful  husband  that  he  was,  it  occurred  to  him 
to  take  counsel  of  Hadijah.  On  hearing  what  had  oc- 
curred, she  forthwith  did  obeisance  and  declared  him 
verily  a  prophet  of  God.  Thus  she  won  for  herself  an 
immortal  name  as  the  first  convert  of  Islam.    The  next 

— '  Glad  tidings  to  thee,  O  Mohammed  !'  exclaimed  Chadizah;  '  it  is  an 
angel,  for  he  has  respected  my  unveiled  face ;  an  evil  spirit  would  not.' 
As  his  disease  advanced  these  spectral  illusions  became  more  frequent ; 
from  one  of  them  he  received  the  divine  commission.  *  I,'  said  his  vi^ife, 
*  will  be  thy  first  believer ;'  and  they  knelt  down  in  prayer  together. 
Since  that  day  nine  thousand  millions  of  human  beings  have  acknowl- 
edged him  to  be  a  prophet  of  God." — Draper's  Intellectual  Develop- 
ment of  Europe,  \.  330. 


268      THE   RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

to  yield  allegiance  was  the  freedman  Zaid ;  the  next, 
Mohammed's  cousin  Ah ;  the  next,  Abu-bekr,  and 
others  slowly  followed.  The  people  of  Mecca  gave 
little  heed  or  credence  to  the  pretensions  of  their 
townsman.  He  was  indeed  a  prophet  without  honor 
among  his  own.  At  the  end  of  five  years  he  had  less 
than  fifty  followers,  and  many  of  these  were  of  the 
servile  class.^ 

Persecution. — Whether  we  regard  him  as  knave, 
fanatic  or  sincere  reformer,  it  is  impossible  not  to  ad- 
mire the  patient  continuance  of  this  man.  He  was 
troubled  on  every  side,  yet  not  distressed ;  perplexed, 
but  not  in  despair.  Driven  out  by  the  people  of  Mecca, 
he  resorted  with  his  scant  following  to  a  cave  in  the 
suburbs,  where  for  three  years  they  "  suffered  all  the 
privations  of  a  beleaguered  garrison."  At  this  time,  for 
his  encouragement — so  the  record  runs — the  prophet 
was  carried  upon  a  winged  steed  to  Jerusalem,  where 
he  met  the  holy  convocation  of  prophets,  and,  being 
lifted  into  the  seventh  heaven,  communed  with  God. 

The  Hejira. — At  length,  in  the  year  622,  he  fled  to 
Medina,  taking  his  disciples  with  him.  This  flight  is 
called  "The  Hejira,"  and  marks  the  beginning  of  the 

^  "  The  incarcerations  and  tortures,  chiefly  by  thirst  in  the  burning 
rays  of  the  sun,  to  which  these  humble  converts  were  subjected  to  induce 
their  recantation  and  adoration  of  the  national  idols,  touched  the  heart 
of  Mohammed,  and  by  divine  authority  he  permitted  them,  under  cer- 
tain circumstances,  to  deny  their  faith  so  long  as  their  hearts  were  stead- 
fast in  it.  Thus  :  'Whoever  denieth  God  after  he  hath  believed,  except 
him  who  shall  be  compelled  against  his  will,  whose  heart  continueth 
steadfast  in  the  faith,  shall  be  chastised'  (Koran,  Surah  xvi.)." — Islam, 
p.  76. 


ISLAM.  269 

Mohammedan  era.  The  fugitives,  being  pursued,  took 
refuge  in  a  ravine  on  Mount  Thaur.  In  this  soHtude 
the  heart  of  Abu-bekr  failed  him,  and  he  said,  "  They 
be  many  that  fight  against  us ;  we  are  only  two." — 
"  Not  so,"  answered  the  prophet ;  "  we  seem  but  two, 
but  Allah  is  a  third  among  us."  Their  pursuers  came 
to  the  mouth  of  the  cavern  and  peered  in,  but  a  divinely- 
commissioned  spider  had  there  woven  its  web  and  a 
pair  of  brooding  wood-pigeons  forbade  further  search. 
After  three  days  the  faithful  ventured  forth  and  resumed 
their  journey.  On  reaching  Medina  their  leader  was 
received  with  glad  acclamations  as  a  prophet  of  God. 

Islam. — Now  began  the  organization  of  Islam.  The 
call  to  prayer  was  uttered  from  the  minarets  ;  the  Cres- 
ceritade  was  proclaimed.  And  here  we  mark  a  trans- 
formation in  Mohammed's  character.  He  was  no 
more,  henceforth,  the  pure-minded,  kindly-disposed, 
long-suffering  dreamer  of  dreams,  but  a  red-handed 
fanatic  and  sensualist.^  So  true  is  it,  as  one  of  the 
old  poets  wrote,  that  when  Ambition  comes  to  court 
Dominion, 

"  all  the  hireling  equipage  of  virtues, 
Faith,  Honor,  Justice,  Gratitude  and  Friendship, 
Is  discharged  at  once."  ^ 

It  was  now  announced  by  the  prophet  that  Islam  was 

^  "  The  peaceful  preacher  of  righteousness  spent  the  last  ten  years 
of  his  life  in  training  an  army  of  fanatical  warriors.  His  character  be- 
came brutalized,  his  life  sensual.  He  appealed  to  divine  sanction  for 
his  licentiousness.  The  early  purity  of  his  soul  vanished  :  he  changed 
into  a  man  of  cunning  and  of  blood." — Dr.  Lees,  in  Faiths  of  the 
World,  p.  312. 

'  "  He  (Mohammed)  adds  another,  and  perhaps  the  greatest,  illustra- 


270  THE  RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

to  be  propagated  by  the  sword.  No  quarter  must  be 
given  to  unbelievers.  "  Fight  against  them  until  there 
be  no  idolater  left  to  oppose  us,  and  until  the  only- 
religion  shall  be  that  of  Allah  the  true  God."  ^  In  623 
a  company  of  Mohammedan  followers,  going  out  from 

tion  to  the  long  list  of  noble  souls  whose  natures  have  become  subdued 
to  that  which  they  worked  in — who  have  sought  high  ends  by  low 
means — who,  talking  of  the  noblest  truths,  descend  into  the  meanest 
prevarications,  and  so  throw  a  doubt  on  all  sincerity,  faith  and  honor. 
Such  was  the  judgment  of  a  great  thinker — Goethe — concerning  Mo- 
hammed. He  believes  him  to  have  been  at  first  profoundly  sincere, 
but  he  says  of  him  that  afterward  '  what  in  his  character  is  earthly 
increases  and  develops  itself;  the  divine  retires  and  is  obscured;  his 
doctrine  becomes  a  means  rather  than  an  end.  All  kinds  of  practices 
are  employed,  nor  are  horrors  wanting.'  Goethe  intended  to  write  a 
drama  upon  Mohammed  to  illustrate  the  sad  fact  that  every  man  who 
attempts  to  realize  a  great  idea  comes  in  contact  with  the  lower  world, 
must  place  himself  on  its  level  in  order  to  influence  it,  and  thus  often 
compromises  his  higher  aims,  and  at  last  forfeits  them." — Clarke's 
Ten  Great  Religions,  p.  468. 

*  "  In  631,  Mohammed  issued  an  important  command,  the  crowning- 
stone  of  the  system  he  had  raised,  which  shows  at  once  the  power  he 
wielded  and  the  strong  hold  his  doctrines  had  already  taken  throughout 
Arabia.  Refusing  to  be  present  himself  during  the  ceremonies  of  the 
pilgrimage,  he  commissioned  Ali  to  announce  to  the  assembled  multi- 
tudes in  the  valley  of  Mina  that  at  the  expiration  of  the  four  sacred 
months  the  prophet  would  hold  himself  absolved  from  every  obligation 
or  league  with  idolaters — that  after  that  year  no  unbeliever  would  be 
allowed  to  perform  the  pilgrimage  or  to  visit  the  holy  places ;  and, 
further,  he  gave  direction  that  either  within  or  without  the  sacred  ter- 
ritory war  was  to  be  waged  with  them,  that  they  were  to  be  killed,  be- 
sieged and  laid  in  wait  for  '  wheresoever  found.'  He  ordains,  however, 
that  if  they  repent  and  pay  the  legal  alms  they  are  to  be  dismissed 
freely ;  but  as  regards  '  those  unto  whom  the  Scriptures  have  been  de- 
livered (Jews  and  Christians,  etc.)  they  are  to  be  fought  against  until 
they  pay  tribute  by  right  of  subjection  and  are  reduced  low.'" — Islaniy 
p.  178. 


ISLAM.  271 

Medina,  waylaid  a  merchant  caravan  bound  for  Mecca 
and  plundered  it.  That  day  the  Moslem  tiger  had  its 
first  taste  of  blood,  and  it  has  ravaged  the  earth  from 
then  until  now.  The  city  of  Mecca  fell,  a.  d.  630,  before 
an  army  of  ten  thousand  led  by  Mohammed  in  person; 
the  three  hundred  and  sixty-five  idols  of  the  Kaaba 
were  cast  down,  and  from  the  summit  of  that  venerable 
shrine  Allah  was  proclaimed  the  only  God.  Thence- 
forth the  future  of  the  new  religion  was  assured.  From 
every  quarter  the  sheiks  of  the  Ishmaelitic  tribes  came 
flocking  to  the  standard  of  Islam. 

The  PropJicfs  Death. — The  prophet  died  a.  d.  632.^ 
The  1 2th  of  Rabi  (corresponding  to  our  June  8th)  is 
observed  as  a  triple  anniversary,  marking  his  birth, 
hejira  and  death.  At  his  grave  the  following  prayer 
was  offered  by  Abu-bekr :  "  Peace  be  unto  thee,  O 
prophet  of  God,  and  the  mercy  of  the  Lord  and  his 
blessing !  We  bear  witness  that  the  prophet  of  the 
Lord  hath  delivered  the  message  revealed  to  him,  hath 
fought  for  the  true  religion  until  God  crowned  it  with 

^  "  About  the  8tli  of  June,  632,  he  had  regained  sufficient  strength  to 
make  a  final  visit  to  the  mosque.  Viewing  with  joy  the  devotion  of 
his  followers,  who  on  the  news  of  his  illness  had  assembled  in  crowds, 
he  proclaimed  that  he  had  made  lawful  to  them  only  what  God  had  ap- 
proved ;  that  each  one  of  them  must  work  out  his  own  acceptance  with 
God,  inasmuch  as  he  himself  had  no  power  to  save  them ;  and,  after 
discharging  some  small  claims,  he  returned  exhausted  and  fainting  to 
Ayesha's  room.  With  his  head  on  her  lap  he  prayed  for  assistance  in 
his  last  agonies  and  for  admission  to  the  companionship  of  God.  Ayesha 
tried  in  every  way  to  soothe  the  sufferings  of  his  last  moments,  Ejac- 
ulatory  words  at  intervals  escaped  his  lips :  '  Eternity  of  Paradise,' 
*  Pardon,'  '  The  glorious  associates  on  high,'  and  then  all  was  still. 
The  prophet  of  Mecca  was  dead." — Islam,  p.  184. 


272  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

victory,  hath  fulfilled  the  injunction  to  worship  the 
Only  One,  hath  drawn  us  unto  himself  and  been  kind 
and  tender-hearted  toward  all  the  faithful,  hath  sought 
no  recompense  for  declaring  the  true  faith,  and  hath 
not  sold  it  for  a  price  at  any  time.     Amen !  amen  !"  ^ 

Conquest. — The  prophet  was  dead,  but  his  work  of 
conquest  was  not  suspended.  His  sharp  sword  still 
flashed  in  the  air.  The  Arab  tribes,  previously  at  war 
with  each  other,  now  rallied  and  went  forth  unitedly 
to  overcome  the  world.  Led  on  by  the  indomitable 
Khaled,  "  the  Sword  of  God,"  they  pushed  their  way 
northward  over  Syria,  entered  Africa  and  possessed 
themselves  of  the  countries  lying  along  the  Mediter- 
ranean ;  crossed  into  Europe,  where  they  subjugated 
Spain  and  a  considerable  portion  of  France ;    driven 

^  **  Had  he  no  relentings  at  the  visible  approach  of  the  end  ?  Was 
he  to  go  to  the  grave  untouched  by  all  the  calamities  he  had  brought 
upon  mankind,  the  blood  he  had  shed,  the  multitudes  he  had  beguiled? 
He  had  no  touch  of  remorse  for  any  of  these  things ;  rather,  he  con- 
tinued firmer  in  his  course  than  ever — seemed  more  persuaded  of  the 
genuineness  of  his  mission  and  uttered  prophecies  of  the  universal  ex- 
tension of  his  faith.  *  When  the  angels  ask  thee  w^ho  thou  art,'  he  said 
as  the  body  of  his  son  was  lowered  into  the  tomb,  '  say,  God  is  my 
Lord,  the  Prophet  of  God  was  my  father,  and  my  faith  was  Islam,' 
Islam  continued  his  own  faith  till  the  last.  He  tottered  to  the  mosque 
where  Abu-bekr  was  engaged  in  leading  the  prayers  of  the  congrega- 
tion, and  addressed  the  people  for  the  last  time.  '  Everything  happens,' 
he  said,  *  according  to  the  will  of  God,  and  has  its  appointed  time, 
which  is  not  to  be  hastened  or  avoided.  My  last  command  to  you  is 
that  you  remain  united ;  that  you  love,  honor  and  uphold  each  other  ; 
that  you  exhort  each  other  to  faith  and  constancy  in  belief  and  to  the 
performance  of  pious  deeds  :  by  these  alone  men  prosper;  all  else  leads 
to  destruction.'  A  few  days  after  this  there  were  grief  and  lamentation 
all  over  the  faithful  lands." — White's  Eighteen  Christian  Centuries^ 
p.  159. 


ISLAM.  273 

thence  by  Charles  Martel,  who  smotei  them  hip  and 
thigh  at  the  battle  of  Poictiers,  A.  D.  732,  they  faced 
about  and  swept  over  Persia  and  Afghanistan ;  moved 
on  into  China,  where  there  are  at  present  four  millions 
of  Moslems ;  and,  advancing  upon  the  territory  of  the 
Greeks,  raised  the  Crescent  over  the  towers  of  Con- 
stantinople ;  thence  they  renewed  from  the  East  their 
attempt  upon  Europe,  from  which  they  were  finally 
driven  back  by  Sobieski,  who  overwhelmed  them  in 
a  bloody  engagement  under  the  walls  of  Vienna, 
A.  D.   1683. 

The  territory  of  Islam  extends  to-day  "  from  the 
Pacific  Ocean  at  Peking  to  the  Atlantic  in  Sierra 
Leone,  over  one  hundred  and  twenty  degrees  of  lon- 
gitude, embracing  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  mil- 
lions of  people." 

The  name  "  Islam,"  by  which  this  religion  of  Mo- 
hammed is  characterized,  is  from  a  root  signifying 
*'to  be  at  rest."  The  name  means  therefore  submis- 
sion to  the  divine  will. 

I.  The  Sacred  Books. — The  Mohammedans  say  there 
are  four  foundations  of  the  faith — namely  : 

1.  The  Koran,  or  Scriptures  of  God. 

2.  Hadith,  or  Traditional  Sayings   of  Mohammed.*^ 
These  are  regarded  by  the  great  Sunni  sect  as  having 
no  less  authority  than  the  Koran  itself 

3.  The  Ijma,  or  Consensus  of  the  Fathers,  held  to 
be  final  authority  in  questions  not  definitely  settled  by 
the  Koran  and  traditions. 

4.  The  Quias,  or  Reasonings  of  the  Learned,  a  text- 
book for  Mohammedan  schools. 

18 


274  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

The  Koran. — Of  these  foundations  it  will  be  neces- 
sary to  consider  only  the  Koran.  This  is  believed  to 
be  something  more  than  an  inspired  book — nothing 
less  indeed  than  the  uncreated  and  eternal  word  of 
God.  There  have  been  other  revelations,  but  this  is 
held  to  contain  the  sum  and  substance  of  them  all. 
The  original  text,  known  as  "  the  mother  of  the  Book," 
is  said  to  have  been  in  heaven  from  the  beginning ;  in 
fullness  of  time  it  was  revealed  to  Mohammed  by  a 
process  of  "  handing  down  "  called  tanzil,  and  was  re- 
corded by  his  disciples  on  palm-leaves,  white  stones, 
leather,  the  shoulder-blades  of  sheep  and  camels  and 
the  breasts  or  memories  of  men.  A  year  after  the 
prophet's  death  the  various  portions  of  the  book  thus 
"  handed  down  "  were  collected  and  published  by  the 
freedman  Zaid.  It  is  wholly  in  Arabic,  and  curses  are 
invoked  upon  the  impious  wretch  who  shall  presume 
to  translate  it. 

Its  Co7iteiits. — The  Koran  is  not  quite  as  large  as  our 
New  Testament.  It  is  made  up  of  visions,  legends, 
plagiarized  and  distorted  Bible-stories,^  apocryphal  tra- 

*  "  It  cannot  be  doubted  that  Mohammed  found  opportunity  for  pros- 
ecuting his  study  of  the  Jewish  histories,  for  he  reproduces  the  minute 
details  of  the  stories  of  Moses  (Surah  xxviii.),  of  Joseph  (Surah  xii.)  and 
of  others,  though  all  are  more  or  less  mixed  up  with  legends  and 
apocryphal  additions  of  his  own.  In  his  treatment  of  the  Scriptures 
he  shows  no  comprehensive  grasp  of  Old-Testament  teaching;  his 
knowledge  is  purely  superficial,  touching  only  the  outside  shell  of 
facts,  and  these  are  often  distorted  and  strained  to  suit  his  own  pur- 
poses, and  abound  in  fanciful  and  incongruous  details  and  fables.  Thus 
he  tells  the  story  of  the  *  Seven  Sleepers,'  dormant  in  the  cave  for  three 
hundred  and  nine  years,  to  illustrate  God's  care  of  those  who  avoid 
idolatry  (Surah  xviii.) ;  the  golden  calf  in  the  wilderness  is  made  to  low 


ISLAM.  275 

ditions,  dogmas,  moral  maxims  and  civil  laws.  These 
are  divided  into  one  hundred  and  fourteen  chapters, 
called  "  surahs,"  with  such  titles  as  "  The  Cow," 
"  Thunder "  and  the  like.  Each  surah  begins  with 
the  words,  "  In  the  name  of  the  merciful  and  com- 
passionate God."  ^ 

(Surah  xx.);  the  children  of  Israel  are  seduced  to  idolatry  by  a  Samar- 
itan; Joseph  is  stated  to  have  been  sorely  tempted  by  the  '  Egyptian's 
wife,'  and  the  women  of  Egypt  cut  themselves  for  the  love  of  his  beauty 
(Surah  xii.) ;  Joseph  satisfies  his  father  that  he  is  still  alive  in  Egypt  by 
sending  him  an  inner  garment,  the  smell  of  which  Jacob  recognizes  and 
is  by  it  cured  of  his  blindness ;  the  odor  of  the  vest  is  borne  on  the  air 
to  the  aged  patriarch  from  Egypt  to  Canaan ;  the  people  of  the  '  City 
near  the  Sea'  are  changed  into  apes  for  fishing  on  the  Sabbath  (Surah 
iii.) ;  Abraham,  for  speaking  against  idolatry  practiced  round  him,  is 
cast  into  a  burning  pile,  but  God  makes  the  fire  cold  (Surah  xxi.  69) ;  the 
winds  are  said  to  have  been  subject  to  Solomon  and  to  have  run  at  his 
command ;  the  latter  asserts  himself  to  have  been  taught  the  language 
of  birds  (Surah  xxvii.),  and  talks  with  a  lapwing,  which  expresses  its 
belief  in  the  unity  of  God ;  a  terrible  genius  (in  orig.  Efreef)  brings  to 
Solomon,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  the  queen  of  Sheba's  throne ;  Job 
strikes  with  his  feet  and  a  fountain  springs  up  as  a  liniment  for  his 
sores;  he  is  also  ordered  to  beat  his  wife  with  rods." — Islam,  p.  136. 

1  "  The  Koran  in  its  philosophy  is  incomparably  inferior  to  the  writ- 
ings of  Chakia  Mouni,  the  founder  of  Buddhism  ;  in  its  science  it  is 
absolutely  worthless.  On  speculative  or  doubtful  things  it  is  copious 
enough,  but  in  the  exact,  where  a  test  can  be  applied  to  it,  it  totally 
fails.  Its  astronomy,  cosmogony,  physiology  are  so  puerile  as  to  invite 
our  mirth  if  the  occasion  did  not  forbid.  They  belong  to  the  old  times 
of  the  world,  the  morning  of  human  knowledge.  The  earth  is  firmly 
balanced  in  its  seat  by  the  weight  of  the  mountains ;  the  sky  is  sup- 
ported over  it  like  a  dome,  and  we  are  instructed  in  the  wisdom  and 
power  of  God  by  being  told  to  find  a  crack  in  it  if  we  can.  Ranged 
in  stories  seven  in  number  are  the  heavens,  the  highest  being  the  habita- 
tion of  God,  whose  throne — for  the  Koran  does  not  reject  Assyrian  ideas 
— is  sustained  by  winged  animal  forms.  The  shooting  stars  are  pieces 
of  red-hot  stone  thrown  by  angels  at  impure  spirits  when  they  approach 
too  closely.     Of  God  the  Koran  is  full  of  praise,  setting  forth,  often  in 


2/6      THE   RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

Its  Literary  Character. — The  book  is  written  in  poetic 
form,  or,  to  speak  more  accurately,  in  rhymed  prose. 
The  prophet  has  an  exalted  opinion  of  poetry. 

"  Beneath  God's  throne  a  dazzling  treasure  lies, 
Whose  opening  key  is  but  the  poet's  tongue; 
Without  that  key  the  wondrous  hoard's  supplies 

Could  ne'er  be  brought  on  earth  to  old  and  young." 

There  is  a  wide  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  literary 
character  of  the  Koran,  some  Oriental  scholars  regard- 
ing it  as  a  model  of  excellence,  while  others  (as  Pro- 
fessor Noldeke — see  Encyclopcedia  Britannica,  under 
"  Mohammedanism  "),  deem  it  a  "  loose,"  "  verbose," 
*' awkward,"  **  slovenly"  and  altogether  inartistic  book. 

One  of  its  most  beautiful  chapters  is  the  *'  Fatiha," 
or  preface,  which  is  rendered  by  Burton  as  follows :    • 

"In  the  name  of  Allah  the  Merciful,  the  Compassionate! 
Praise  be  to  Allah,  who  the  three  worlds  made, 
The  Merciful,  the  Compassionate  ! 
The  King  of  the  Day  of  Fate ! 

not  unworthy  imagery,  his  majesty.  Though  it  bitterly  denounces  those 
who  give  him  any  equals,  and  assures  them  that  their  sin  will  never  be 
forgiven — that  in  the  judgment-day  they  must  answer  the  fearful  ques- 
tion, *  Where  are  my  companions  about  whom  ye  disputed  ?' — though  it 
inculcates  an  absolute  dependence  on  the  mercy  of  God,  and  denounces 
as  criminals  all  those  who  make  a  merchandise  of  religion — its  ideas 
of  the  Deity  are  altogether  anthropomorphic,  God  is  only  a  gigantic 
man  living  in  a  paradise.  In  this  respect,  though  exceptional  passages 
might  be  cited,  the  reader  rises  from  a  penisal  of  the  one  hundred  and 
fourteen  chapters  of  the  Koran  with  a  final  impression  that  they  have 
given  him  low  and  unworthy  thoughts ;  nor  is  it  surprising  that  one  of 
the  Mohammedan  sects  reads  it  in  such  a  way  as  to  find  no  difficulty  in 
asserting  that  *  from  the  crown  of  the  head  to  the  breast  God  is  hollow, 
and  from  the  breast  downward  he  is  solid ;  that  he  has  curled  black 
hair,  and  roars  like  a  lion  at  ever}'  watch  of  the  night.'  " — Draper's 
Intellectual  Develop7nent  of  Europe ,  i.  342. 


ISLAM.  277 

Thee  alone  do  we  worship  and  of  thee  alone  do  we  ask  aid. 
Guide  us  to  the  path  that  is  straight — 
The  path  of  those  to  whom  thy  love  is  great, 
Not  those  on  whom  is  hate, 
Nor  those  that  deviate.     Amen." 

The  second  surah,  called  "  The  Verse  of  the  Throne," 
is  regarded  by  the  Moslems  with  peculiar  reverence, 
and  is  inscribed  on  the  walls  of  mosques  and  worn  as  an 
amulet  upon  the  breast.  It  is  as  follows  :  "  God,  there 
is  no  God  but  He,  the  Living,  the  Self-subsistent.  Slum- 
ber takes  him  not,  nor  sleep.  He  is  what  is  in  the 
heavens  and  what  is  in  the  earth.  Who  is  it  that 
intercedes  with  him  save  by  his  permission  ?  He 
knows  what  is  before  them  and  what  is  behind  them, 
and  they  comprehend  not  aught  of  his  knowledge  but 
of  what  he  pleases.  His  throne  extends  over  the 
heavens  and  the  earth,  and  it  tires  him  not  to  guard 
them  both,  for  he  is  high  and  grand."  ^ 

One  of  the  most  impressive  surahs  is  the  hundred 
and  first,  entitled  "  The  Striking,"  and  having  reference 
to  the  last  judgment:  "  In  that  day  we  shall  be  like 
moths  scattered  abroad,  and  the  mountains  shall  be- 
come like  carded  wool  of  various  colors  driven  by  the 
wind.  Moreover,  he  whose  balance  shall  be  heavy 
with  good  works  shall  lead  a  pleasing  life,  but  as  to 
him  whose  balance  shall  be  light,  his  dwelling  shall  be 
in  the  pit  of  hell.     It  is  a  burning  fire."  ^ 

Its  Authority. — The  authority  of  the  Koran  is  held 
to  be  final  and  absolute  in  questions  pertaining  not 
only  to  theology,  but  also  to  science,  philosophy  and 

1  Lees.  ^  Stobart. 


278  THE   RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

civil  government.  The  book  must  not  be  touched 
with  unwashen  hands,  and  the  eyes  of  an  unbeHever 
must  never  gaze  upon  it.  The  Moslem  living  reveres 
it  as  a  veritable  fetich,  and  dying  clasps  it  to  his  bosom 
as  a  passport  to  the  regions  of  the  blest, 

"  I  saw  a  Moslem  work  upon  his  shroud  alone 
With  earnest  care,  even  as  the  silkworms  weave  their  own. 

"  In  his  illness  it  always  near  his  bedside  lay, 
And  he  wrote  Koran-verses  on  it  night  and  day. 

"  When  with  that  sacred  script  it  was  filled  from  side  to  side. 
He  wrapped  it  round  his  body  and  in  calmness  died. 

"In  that  protecting  robe,  now  buried  in  the  ground, 
Still  may  he  know  the  peace  he  in  its  writing  found."  ^ 

II.  Theology. — The  Creed,  or  ^'  Kalima!' — The  most 
succinct  statement  of  the  Mohammedan  belief  is  found 
in  the  Kalima,  which  may  be  said  to  correspond  to  our 
"  Apostles*  Creed."  It  is  as  follows :  La  Ilah  illah 
Allah  ;  wa  Muhammad  Riisoid  Allah — "  There  is  no 
god  but  God,  and  Mohammed  is  his  prophet."  The 
two  propositions  of  this  creed  are  co-ordinate  and 
equally  binding  on  the  Moslem  mind  and  conscience. 
Dr.  Lees  says  of  this  Kalima,  "  It  expresses  both  the 
power  and  feebleness  of  Islam."  Gibbon  says,  "  It 
asserts  an  eternal  truth  and  an  eternal  lie." 

I.  "  The  Eternal  Truths — "  There  is  no  god  but  God." 
Here  is  the  truth  of  truths.  Thomas  Carlyle,  con- 
templating this  article  of  the  Mohammedan  faith,  was 
moved  to  say,  "  We  call  Mohammed's  creed  a  kind 
of  Christianity."     Herein  he  found  the  strength  of  the 

1  Alger. 


ISLAM.  279 

whole  system :  "  Out  of  all  that  rubbish  of  Arab  idol- 
atries, argumentative  theologies,  traditions,  rumors  and 
hypotheses  of  Greeks  and  Jews  with  their  idle  wire- 
drawings,  this  wild  man  of  the  desert  with  his  wild 
sincere  heart,  earnest  as  death  and  life,  with  his  great 
flashing  natural  eyesight,  had  seen  into  the  kernel  of 
the  matter.  Idolatry  is  nothing :  *  These  wooden  idols 
of  yours,  ye  rub  them  with  oil  and  wax,  and  the  flies 
stick  on  them  ;  these  are  wood,  I  tell  you  !  They  can 
do  nothing  for  you.  They  are  an  impotent,  blasphem- 
ous pretence  ;  a  horror  and  abomination,  if  ye  knew 
them.  God  alone  is  ;  God  alone  has  power  ;  he  made 
us,  he  can  kill  us  and  keep  us  alive ;  Allah  akbar,  God 
.is  great !  Understand  that  his  will  is  the  best  for  you  ; 
that  howsoever  sore  to  flesh  and  blood,  you  will  find  it 
the  wisest,  best ;  you  are  bound  to  take  it  so ;  in  this 
world  and  the  next  you  have  nothing  else  that  you 
can  do.* " 

Is  it  a  Kind  of  Christianity  ? — But,  Carlyle  to  the  con- 
trary, Mohammedanism  is  not  "  a  kind  of  Christianity," 
rather  it  is  as  far  as  possible  from  it.  The  two  cardinal 
doctrines  of  the  Christian  religion  are  the  incarnation 
and  the  atonement.  Both  of  these  are  distinctly  contra- 
dicted in  the  Koran.  In  the  most  precious  of  its  surahs, 
said  to  be  of  more  value  than  all  the  remainder  of  the 
book,  occurs  this  statement : 

"  Say  there  is  one  God  alone  ? 
God  the  eternal. 

He  begetteth  not,  is  not  begotten, 
And  there  is  none  like  unto  him." 

It  is  obvious  from  this  that  the  monotheism  of  Islam 


280  THE  RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD, 

is  not  Christian  monotheism.  The  prophet  has  indeed 
no  conception  of  our  doctrine  of  the  tripersonal  One. 
He  looked  on  the  Trinity  as  tritheism.  He  seems  to 
have  beheved  that  the  three  persons  of  the  Christian's 
Trinity  were  God,  Jesus  and  the  Virgin  Mary.^  He 
therefore  pronounced  against  it :  "  They  misbeheve 
who  say,  '  Verily,  God  is  the  third  of  this,'  for  there  is 
no  God  but  one ;  and  if  they  do  not  desist  from  what 
they  say,  there  shall  touch  those  who  misbelieve  among 
them  grievous  woe."  Again :  "  The  Christians  say, 
*  Messiah  is  the  Son  of  God.'  They  take  their  doc- 
tors and  monks  for  lords.  God  fight  them,  how  they 
lie  !  They  are  bidden  to  worship  but  one  God ;  and 
there  is  no  God  but  He."  And  again  :  "  The  Messiah, 
Jesus,  the  son  of  Mary,  is  but  the  apostle  of  God,  and 
the  word  of  God  which  he  cast  into  Mary  and  a  Spirit 
from  God.  Believe,  then,  in  God  and  his  apostles,  and 
say  not  '  Three.'  Have  done  !  it  were  better  for  you. 
God  is  only  one."  In  Surah  xix.,  relating  to  the  birth 
of  Jesus,  it  is  said  that  when  Mary's  kindred  charged 
her  with  incontinence  the  child  upon  her  arm  defended 
her  saying,  "  Verily,  I  am  the  servant  of  God.  He  hath 
given  me  the  book  of  the  gospel  and  hath  appointed 
me  a  prophet.  And  he  hath  made  me  blessed  and 
dutiful  toward  my  mother.  This  is  Jesus,  the  son  of 
Mary,  the  word  of  truth  concerning  whom  they  doubt. 
It  is  not  meet  for  God  that  he  should  have  any  son. 
God  forbid!" 

^  Dr.  Henry  H.  Jessup  :  "  There  is  reason  to  suppose  that  Moham- 
med inferred  from  the  Mariolatry  prevalent  in  his  time  that  the  Trinity 
consisted  of  the  Father,  the  Son  and  the  Virgin  Mary." 


ISLAM.  281 

In  like  manner — as  we  shall  see  more  particularly- 
farther  on — the  doctrine  of  the  atonement  as  held  by 
Christians  is  denied  by  Mohammed  in  most  explicit 
terms.  We  affirm,  therefore,  that  Mohammedanism  as 
a  system  of  belief  has  nothing  whatever  in  common 
with  the  distinctive  creed  of  the  Christian  religion. 
The  claim  of  fellowship  which  is  sometimes  made 
seems,  therefore,  a  trifle  gratuitous  on  the  part  of  per- 
sons whom  the  Mohammedans  themselves  are  wont  to 
stigmatize  as  "  infidels  "  and  '*  Christian  dogs." 

Opposed  to  Idolatry. — The  monotheism  of  Islam  is 
opposed  to  every  form  of  idolatry.  It  will  be  remem- 
bered that  the  first  act  of  the  prophet  on  entering 
Mecca  in  triumph  was  to  overthrow  the  images  in  the 
Kaaba.^  As  long  as  he  lived  the  driver  of  Khadijah's 
caravans  was  beating  down  as  with  his  camels'  hoofs 
the  "  abominations  "  of  the  sons  of  Ishmael.  "  The 
belief,"  says  Maurice,  "that  nothing  in  the  earth,  noth- 
ing in  the  heavens,  not  even  light,  is  a  symbol  of  God 
— that  not  even  man  himself  can  be  looked  upon  in 
any  other  character  than  as  a  minister  of  the  one  Su- 
preme Being, — evidently  inspires  every  enterprise.     In 

1  "  One  day,  whilst  sitting  by  the  Kaaba,  he  uttered  in  the  hearing 
of  his  opponents  words  of  compromise  regarding  their  gods  Al-Lat  and 
Al-Ozza  and  Manah,  that  '  their  intercession  might  be  hoped  for  with 
God.'  These  words  were  listened  to  with  surprise  by  the  idolaters  who 
were  present,  and  a  reconciliation  seemed  possible ;  but  within  a  few 
days  the  concession  he  had  made  was  by  the  prophet  attributed  to  a 
suggestion  of  the  Evil  One,  was  uncompromisingly  withdrawn  and  the 
idol-worship  condemned  and  reprobated,  thus :  'What  think  ye  of  Al- 
Lat  and  Al-Ozza  and  Manah,  that  other  third  goddess  ?  They  are  no 
other  than  empty  names,  which  ye  and  your  fathers  have  named  god- 
desses'  (Surah  liii.)." — Islam,  p.  80. 


282  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

the  strength  of  it  they  destroy  temples,  idols  and  priests, 
plunder  cities,  make  slaves  of  their  inhabitants,  turn 
their  children  into  soldiers  of  the  Crescent."  ^  The  God 
of  Islam  is  enthroned  in  the  supreme  place,  above  all 
principalities  and  powers  of  earth  and  heaven — an 
awful  Presence  abiding  solitary  and  alone.  Only  God 
is  great !  * 

"  A  King,  who  by  the  public  mouth  was  named  the  Great, 
Was  on  his  station's  frailty  wont  to  meditate. 

"  Against  all  arrogance  as  a  protecting  gate 
This  phrase  he  oft  repeated :   Only  God  is  great. 

"  Those  words  he  bade  them  on  the  palace-wall  ingrain, 
"Whose  fragrant  columns,  crumbling,  to  this  day  remain. 

*'  City  and  realm  are  sunk,  but  travelers  relate 
You  still  may  read  that  motto  :    Only  God  is  great.'''' 

The  Absolute  Will. — The  God  of  Islam  is  the  apotheA 
osis  of  pure  Will.  There  is  no  love  or  true  mercy  or 
sympathy  in  him.  The  Mohammedan  system  is  called 
by  Palgrave  "  a  pantheism  of  force."  The  Koran  gives 
ninety-nine  names  of  God,  but  **  Father  "  is  not  among  \ 
them.  The  very  closest  relation  of  the  believer  with 
God  is  expressed  in  the  word  islam,  or  submission  to 
his  will.     *•  Verily,"  said  the  prophet,  "  there  is  none 

^  "  It  was  a  mercy  of  God,"  continues  the  same  writer,  "  that  such  a 
witness,  however  bare  of  other  supporting  principles,  however  sur- 
rounded by  confusions,  should  have  been  borne  to  his  name,  when  his 
creatures  were  ready,  practically,  to  forget  it.  The  first  Mohammedan 
conquest,  the  continued  dominion,  prove  the  assertion  *  God  is '  to  be 
no  diy  proposition,  but  one  which  is  capable  of  exercising  a  mastery 
over  the  rudest  tribes,  of  giving  them  an  order,  of  making  them  vic- 
torious over  all  the  civilization  and  all  the  religion  which  has  not  this 
principle  for  its  basis." 


ISLAM.  283 

in  heaven  or  on  earth  but  shall  approach  the  God  of 
mercy  as  a  slave."  How  far,  how  infinitely  far,  re- 
moved is  this  from  the  filial  intimacy  of  those  who  by 
the  spirit  of  adoption  are  admitted  into  the  glorious 
liberty  of  the  children  of  God  !  The  God  of  the  Mos- 
lems, as  Palgrave  observes,^  "  is  one  in  the  totality  of 
omnipotent  and  omnipresent  action  which  acknowledges 
no  rule,  standard  or  limits,  save  one  sole  and  absolute 
will.  He  himself,  sterile  in  his  inaccessible  height, 
neither  loving  nor  enjoying  aught  save  his  own  and 
self-measured  decree,  without  son,  companion  or  coun- 
cilor, is  no  less  barren  for  himself  than  for  his  crea- 
tures ;  and  his  own  barrenness  and  lone  egoism  in  him- 
self is  the  cause  and  rule  of  his  indifferent  and  unre- 
garding  despotism  around." 

"  One  God  the  Arabian  prophet  preached  to  man ; 
One  God  the  Crescent  still 
Adores  through  many  a  realm  of  mighty  span — 
A  God  of  power  and  will — 

"  A  God  that,  shrouded  in  his  lonely  light, 
Rests  utterly  apart 
From  all  the  vast  creations  of  his  might, 
From  nature,  man  and  art ; 

"  A  power  that  at  his  pleasure  doth  create, 
To  save  or  to  destroy; 
And  to  eternal  pain  predestinate, 
As  to  eternal  joy."  '^ 

Central  Thotight:  Kismet. — The  Moslem's  belief  in 

^  Quoted  by  Dr.  Lees,  in  The  Faiths  of  the  World. 

2  "  The  Mohammedans  accept  the  doctrine  of  God's  absolute  pre- 
destinating decree,  both  for  good  and  evil,  for  man's  obedience  and 
disobedience,  for  his  future  happiness  and  misery,  and  also  that  these 


284  THE  RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

Fate  grows  out  of  his  conception  of  God.  All  things 
are  controlled  by  an  infinite  Will.  There  is  no  chang- 
ing the  supreme  purpose  concerning  us.  What  is  to 
be  must  be.  Prosperity  and  adversity  alike  are  met 
with  a  stolid  front :  ''  Kismet — it  is  the  divine  will." 
All  things  that  come  to  pass  were  written  on  stone  tab- 
lets from  the  beginning.  The  day  of  a  man's  death  is 
inscribed  on  his  forehead,  and  he  can  do  nothing  to 
avert  or  postpone  it.  Hence  the  desperate  valor  of 
Moslems  on  the  battle-field. 

"Fate  is  a  hand.     It  lays  two  fingers  on  the  eyes, 
Two  on  the  ears,  one  on  the  mouth,  and  silent  cries, 
•  Be  ever  still !'     Then  down  in  endless  sleep  man  lies." 

This  Mohammedan  doctrine  of  predestination  makes 
God  an  unreasoning  and  hateful  autocrat  and  man  an 
impotent  creature  in  his  terrible  grip.  "  When  God 
resolved  to  create  the  human  race  he  took  into  his 
hands  a  mass  of  earth,  the  same  whence  all  mankind 
were  to  be  formed,  and  in  which  they  after  a  manner 
pre-existed  ;  and,  having  then  divided  the  clod  into 
two  equal  portions,  he  threw  the  one  half  into  hell, 
saying,  *  These  to  eternal  fire,  and  I  care  not !'  and 
projected  the  other  half  into  heaven,  adding,  *  And 
these  to  Paradise,  and  I  care  not!' "     On  this  Palgrave 

eternal  and  immutable  decrees  cannot  by  any  wisdom  or  foresight  be 
avoided.  Carried  to  its  extreme,  this  doctrine  saps  the  foundation  of 
free  will,  renders  men  blind  to  the  teaching  of  the  past,  apathetic  in  the 
present  and  indifferent  to  the  future.  It  makes  prayer  an  empty  form, 
destroying  as  it  does  all  dependence  upon  an  overruling  Providence, 
and,  pitiless  as  the  grave,  takes  away  alike  the  power  of  avoiding  sin 
and  of  escaping  its  punishment — making  even  the  power  and  mercy  of 
the  Almighty  subject  to  the  fiat  of  an  inexorable  Fate." — Islam,  p.  97. 


ISLAM.  285 

says  :  "In  a  word,  he  burns  one  individual  through  all 
eternity  amid  red-hot  chains  and  seas  of  molten  fire, 
and  seats  another  in  the  plenary  enjoyment  of  an  ever- 
lasting brothel,  between  forty  celestial  concubines,  just 
and  equally  for  his  own  good  pleasure  and  because  he 
wills  it."  This  may  be  called,  literally,  predestination 
with  a  vengeance. 

2.  "  The  Great  Lie'' — The  second  article  of  the  Is- 
lamic creed  is,  "  Mohammed  is  God's  prophet."  This 
is  the  sublime  falsehood  for  which  holy  wars  without 
number  have  been  waged — a  falsehood  for  which  there 
is  no  ground  nor  extenuation  whatever  in  the  life  and 
character  of  Mohammed — a  falsehood  which,  like  a 
granite  pillar,^  has  upheld  Islam  for  thirteen  centuries, 
only  to  crumble  at  length  under  the  silent  influence  of 
clearer  light,  leaving  that  imposing  fabric  to  suffer  the 
common  fate  of  all  spurious  systems  of  religion. 

Sin. — In  addition  to  the  two  fundamental  doctrines 
of  the  Kalima  already  mentioned,  there  are  other  im- 
portant tenets.  The  Moslems  believe  in  sin ;  not,  how- 
ever, in  that  kind  of  sin  which  is  described  as  "  any 
want  of  conformity  unto  or  transgression  of  the  law 
of  God."     The  conviction   of  sin   felt  by  a   Moham- 

*  "  It  is,  without  doubt,  one  of  the  most  noticeable  circumstances  in 
the  history  of  his  religion  that  his  own  person  should  have  been  so 
much  bound  up  with  it ;  that  every  caliph  or  sultan  who  has  reigned 
over  any  tribe  of  his  followers  should  have  reigned  in  his  name ;  that 
the  recollection  of  a  man  should  have  so  much  more  power  than  even 
the  book  which  Mussulmans  regard  with  such  profound  reverence ;  that 
the  honor  of  a  human  chieftain  should  so  markedly  distinguish  a  re- 
ligion which  looks  upon  man  as  separated  by  an  immeasurable  distance 
from  the  object  of  his  worship." — F.  D.  Maurice,  in  Religions  of  the 
World,  p.  20. 


286  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

medan  is  due  to  a  consciousness  of  having  come  short 
of  his  complement  of  meritorious  observances.  He  has 
not  cried  Allah  il  Allah  an  hundred  times  since  day- 
break, as  he  should  have  done,  or  he  has  failed  to  make 
the  requisite  number  of  prostrations,  or  he  has  not 
cursed  the  infidel  with  sufficient  gusto. 

"What  shall  I  Do  to  be  Saved f — The  only  possi- 
bility of  deliverance  from  the  dire  consequences  of 
such  shortcoming  is  in  doing  better  for  the  future.^ 
The  Moslem  is  for  ever  "  turning  over  a  new  leaf" 
There  is  no  room  in  his  religion  for  any  such  thing  as 
forgiveness,  though  the  prophet  in  his  last  hours  cried 
out  for  it :  "  Allah  !  grant  me  pardon — pardon  and  an 
eternity  in  Paradise !"  The  Christian  doctrine  of  re- 
demption is  wholly  repudiated,  and  there  is  no   other 

^  "  The  joys  of  Paradise  are  to  be  obtained  only  by  the  rigid  perform- 
ance of  all  the  observances  of  the  faith  ;  and  the  value  of  the  believer's 
works  are  to  be  weighed  by  a  hard  taskmaster  rather  than  a  loving 
Father,  the  dread  of  whose  displeasure,  more  than  the  smile  of  whose 
favor,  is  to  be  the  motive  or  principle  of  action." — Islam,  p.  191. 

"  The  Koran  repudiates  the  idea  of  any  vicarious  sacrifice  for  sin, 
teaches  expressly  that  each  soul  must  account  for  itself  to  God,  and, 
denying  the  truth  of  Christian  redemption,  lays  upon  each  individual 
the  task  of  atoning  for  his  own  sin,  of  securing  pardon  and  of  render- 
ing himself  meet  for  admission  to  Paradise.  Self- righteousness,  the 
merit  of  good  works  and  of  a  rigid  attention  to  the  prescribed  formu- 
laries and  ceremonies  of  their  faith,  with  God's  mercy  to  supply  any 
deficiency, — these  constitute  the  scheme  of  salvation  prescribed  in 
Islam." — Ibid.,  p.  232. 

"  In  proposing  self-righteousness  as  the  means  of  salvation  Islam  is 
admirably  adapted  to  flatter  the  pride  of  man;  and  in  this  particular 
especially  is  it  antagonistic  to  Christianity,  which,  excluding  the  merit 
of  man's  works,  calls  for  inward  holiness,  not  outside  form,  and  sum- 
mons the  humble,  contrite  sinner  in  deep  abasement  to  the  foot  of  the  cross 
as  his  only  hope  of  pardon,  his  only  source  of  peace." — Ibid.,  p.  237. 


ISLAM.  287 

rational  ground  of  forgiveness.  The  Moslem  is  left, 
of  a  truth,  to  work  out  his  own  salvation  with  a  great 
fear  and  trembling,  because  he  works  without  God. 
His  own  hand  or  none  must  save  his  guilty  soul  from 
the  flaming  pit. 

Death. — At  death  soul  and  body  are  buried  together. 
A  few  hours  later  the  grave  is  visited  by  two  angels, 
who  cause  the  deceased  to  sit  up  and  answer  for  him- 
self. If  he  can  sincerely  avow  belief  in  the  Kalima, 
he  is  allowed  to  rest  in  peace ;  otherwise,  he  is  beaten 
and  turned  over  to  the  mercy  of  dragons  until  the  last 
day. 

Restirrectioii. — The  resurrection  is  sure.  It  will  occur 
at  the  sounding  of  the  trumpet  of  the  angel  Israfil. 
Out  of  their  graves  everywhere  the  dead,  great  and 
small,  shall  then  come  to  judgment.^ 

^  "  There  is,  however,  much  diversity  of  opinion  as  to  the  precise  dis- 
posal of  the  soul  before  the  judgment-day  :  some  think  that  it  hovers 
near  the  grave ;  some,  that  it  sinks  into  the  well  Zem-Zem ;  some,  that  it 
retires  into  the  trumpet  of  the  Angel  of  the  Resurrection ;  the  difficulty 
apparently  being  that  any  final  disposal  before  the  day  of  judgment 
would  be  anticipatory  of  that  great  event,  if,  indeed,  it  would  not  ren- 
der it  needless.  As  to  the  resurrection,  some  believe  it  to  be  merely 
spiritual,  others  corporeal,  the  latter  asserting  that  the  os  coccygis,  or 
last  bone  of  the  spinal  column,  will  serve,  as  it  were,  as  a  germ,  and 
that,  vivified  by  a  rain  of  forty  days,  the  body  will  sprout  from  it. 
Among  the  signs  of  the  approaching  resurrection  will  be  the  rising 
of  the  sun  in  the  west.  It  will  be  ushered  in  by  three  blasts  of  a  trum- 
pet :  the  first,  known  as  the  blast  of  consternation,  will  shake  the  earth 
to  its  centre  and  extinguish  the  sun  and  stars;  the  second,  the  blast 
of  extermination,  will  annihilate  all  material  things  except  Paradise, 
hell  and  the  throne  of  God  ;  forty  years  subsequently  the  angel  Israfil 
will  sound  the  blast  of  resurrection.  From  his  trumpet  there  will  be 
blown  forth  the  countless  myriads  of  souls  who  have  taken  refuge 


288      THE   RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

Judgment. — One  of  the  most  striking  surahs  of  the 
Koran,  called  "  The  Folding  Up,"  thus  pictures  the 
events  of  the  dreadful  last  day : 

therein  or  lain  concealed.     The  day  of  judgment  has  now  come.     The 
Koran  contradicts  itself  as  to  the  length  of  this  day,  in  one  place  mak- 
ing it  a  thousand,  in  another  fifty  thousand,  years.    Most  Mohammedans 
incline  to  adopt  the  longer  period,  since  angels,  genii,  men  and  animals 
have  to  be  tried.     As  to  men,  they  will  rise  in  their  natural  state,  but 
naked — white-winged  camels  with  saddles  of  gold  awaiting  the  saved. 
When  the  partition  is  made  the  wicked  will  be  oppressed  with  an  in- 
tolerable heat,  caused  by  the  sun,  which,  having  been  called  into  exist- 
ence again,  will  approach  within  a  mile,  provoking  a  sweat  to  issue 
from  them,  and  this,  according  to  their  demerits,  will  immerse  them 
from  the  ankles  to  the  mouth ;  but  the  righteous  will  be  screened  by  the 
shadow  of  the  throne  of  God.     The  Judge  will  be  seated  in  the  clouds, 
the  books  open  before  him,  and  everything  in  its  turn  will  be  called  on  to 
account  for  its  deeds.    For  greater  despatch,  the  angel  Gabriel  will  hold 
forth  his  balance,  one  scale  of  which  hangs  over  Paradise  and  one  over 
hell.     In  these  all  works  are  weighed.     As  soon  as  the  sentence  is  de- 
livered, the  assembly  in  a  long  file  will  pass  over  the  bridge  Al-Sirat.  It 
is  as  sharp  as  the  edge  of  a  sword  and  laid  over  the  mouth  of  hell. 
Mohammed  and  his  followers  will  successfully  pass  the  perilous  ordeal, 
but  the  sinners,  giddy  with  terror,  will  drop  into  the  place  of  torment. 
The  blessed  will  receive  their  first  taste  of  happiness  at  a  pond  which 
is  supplied  by  silver  pipes  from  the  river  Al-Cawthor.    The  soil  of  Para- 
dise is  of  musk.     Its  rivers  tranquilly  flow  over  pebbles  of  rubies  and 
emeralds.     From  tents  of  hollow  pearls  the  houris,  or  girls  of  Paradise, 
will  come  forth,  attended  by  troops  of  beautiful  boys.     Each  saint  will 
have  eighty  thousand  servants  and  seventy-two  girls.     To  these  some 
of  the  more  merciful  Mussulmans  add  the  wives  they  have  had  upon 
earth,  but  the  grimly  orthodox  assert  that  hell  is  already  nearly  filled 
with  women.     How  can  it  be  otherwise,  since  they  are  not  pennitted  to 
pray  in  a  mosque  upon  earth?     I  have  not  space  to  describe  the  silk 
brocades,  the  green  clothing,  the  soft  carpets,  the  banquets,  the  perpetual 
music  and  songs.     From  the  glorified  body  all  impurities  will  escape, 
not  as  they  did  during  life,  but  in  a  fragrant  perspiration  of  camphor 
and  musk." — Draper's   Intellectual  Development  of  Europe^  vol.   i. 

P-  345- 


ISLAM.  289 

"  When  the  sun  shall  be  folded  up, 
And  the  stars  shall  fall ; 
When  the  mountains  shall  be  moved, 
And  the  she-camels  shall  be  left  un cared  for, 
And  the  wild  beasts  shall  be  huddled  together ; 
When  the  seas  shall  boil ; 

When  the  souls  and  bodies  of  the  dead  shall  be  reunited. 
And  the  leaves  of  the  Book  shall  be  unrolled ; 
When  the  heavens  shall  be  stripped  away  like  a  skin, 
And  hell  shall  be  made  to  blaze, 
And  Paradise  shall  be  brought  near ; — 
Then  every  soul  shall  know  what  it  has  done." 

On  that  day  all  souls  willbe  required  to  pass  over  the 
bridge  Sirat,  which  is  sharper  than  a  sword's  edge  and 
finer  than  a  hair.  "  In  passing  over  it  the  feet  of  the 
infidel  will  slip  and  he  will  fall  into  hell-fire,  where  his 
feet  will  be  shod  with  shoes  of  fire,  the  fever  of  which 
will  make  his  skull  boil  like  a  cauldron ;  but  the  feet 
of  the  Moslem  will  be  firm  and  will  carry  him  safely 
to  Paradise,  where  palaces  of  marble  full  of  delights, 
amid  groves  and  gardens,  await  his  coming." 

Heaven. — The  heaven  of  Islam  is  a  place  of  eight 
divisions,  as  follows:  (i)  The  Garden  of  Eternity,  (2) 
The  Abode  of  Peace,  (3)  The  Abode  of  Rest,  (4)  The 
Garden  of  Eden,  (5)  The  Garden  of  Refuge,  (6)  The 
Garden  of  Delight,  (7)  The  Garden  of  the  Most  High, 
(8)  The  Garden  of  Paradise.  All  these  are  places  of 
innumerable  sensual  joys — shadowy  groves,  fountains, 
fruits  "  hanging  low  so  as  to  be  easily  gathered,"  and 
wives,  ad  libitum. 

Hell. — The  Mohammedan  hell  has  seven  apartments, 
to  wit :  (i)  Gehenum,  for  Moslems  on  their  way  heaven- 
ward ;  (2)  Laswa,  full  of  furious  flames,  for  Christians ; 

19 


290      THE  RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

(3)  Hutama,  a  similar  place  for  Jews;  (4)  Sahir,  a  place 
of  torment  for  Sabians;  (5)  Sagar,  for  Magians,  (6) 
Gahim,  a  red-hot  furnace  for  idolaters ;  and  (7)  Hawia, 
a  bottomless  pit  for  hypocrites.  All  these  are  cham- 
bers of  inexpressible  pain.  "  Verily,"  says  the  Koran, 
"  those  who  misbelieve  in  our  signs  we  will  broil  with 
fire ;  whenever  their  skins  are  well  done,  then  we  will 
change  them  for  other  skins,  that  they  may  taste  the 
torment.     Verily,  God  is  glorious  and  wise." 

El-Aaraf. — Between  heaven  and  hell  there  is  an  in- 
termediate place,  called  El-Aaraf,  which  is  simply  a 
partition-wall  whereon  sit — so  that  they  may  look  both 
ways — the  souls  of  mortals  who,  like  Rob  Roy,  are 
"  o'er  good  for  banning  and  o'er  bad  for  blessing." 

Spints. — The  upper  and  nether  regions  are  peopled 
with  angels.  The  four  chiefest  of  the  blessed  ones  are 
Gabriel,  the  messenger  of  revelation ;  Michael,  the 
friend  of  the  Jews ;  Azrael,  the  angel  of  death ;  and 
Israfeel,  the  angel  of  resurrection.  The  archangel  of 
the  region  of  darkness  is  Eblis,  whose  business  is  "  to 
tempt  man  to  disobedience."  Aside  from  these,  the 
earth  is  peopled  with  genii,  who  play  all  manner  of 
pranks  among  the  living  and  haunt  the  cities  of  the 
dead. 

III.  Ethics. — As  the  future  happiness  of  the  Moslem 
depends  wholly  on  the  performance  of  certain  duties, 
it  is  important  to  know  what  those  duties  are.  To 
begin  with  :  they  have  little  or  no  connection  with  the 
great  principles  which  are  expressed  in  the  moral  law. 
A  disciple  of  Mohammed  may  be  a  thief,  a  liar,  a  sen- 
sualist and  a  murderer,  and  still  be  a  very  good  Mo- 


ISLAM.  291 

hammedan.  The  sum-total  of  duty  is  a  strict  observance 
of  the  ritual.  Dr.  Henry  H.  Jessup  says  :  "  One  who 
fulfills  the  ritual  in  whole  or  in  part  is  a  good  Moslem, 
though  not  to  be  believed  under  oath.  Dr.  Eli  Smith 
of  Beirut  was  said  by  an  Arab  to  be  a  very  holy  man, 
'  But,  poor  man  !  he  had  no  religion ;'  that  is,  no  ob- 
servance of  an  outward  ritual.  The  good  works  of 
Islam  are  of  the  lips,  the  hand  and  outward  bodily  act, 
having  no  connection  with  holiness  of  life.  An  Arab 
highway-robber  and  murderer  was  once  brought  for 
trial  before  a  Mohammedan  pasha,  when  the  pasha 
stepped  down  and  kissed  his  hand,  as  the  culprit  was 
a  dervish  or  holy  man  who  had  been  on  several  pil- 
grimages to  Mecca  and  had  been  known  to  repeat  the 
name  Allah  more  times  than  any  other  man." 

The  Five  Pillars. — The  Five  Pillars  of  Practice, 
called  Deeii,  are  as  follows  :  (i)  Repeating  the  creed, 
or  Kalima.  (2)  Observing  the  five  stated  periods  of 
prayer — viz.  before  sunrise,  just  after  mid-day,  before 
sunset,  after  sunset  and  at  nightfall.  At  these  periods 
the  call  is  heard  from  all  the  minarets  :  ''  All  all  il  Allah  / 
God  is  great  I  I  bear  witness  that  there  is  no  god  but 
God  !  I  bear  witness  that  Mohammed  is  the  prophet  of 
God  !    God  is  great !    There  is  no  other  god  but  God  T  ^ 

1  "  THE   CALL   TO   EVENING   PRAYER. 

*'  One  silver  crescent  in  the  twilight  sky  is  hanging, 
Another  tips  the  solemn  dome  of  yonder  mosque ; 
And  now  the  muezzin's  call  is  heard,  sonorous  clanging, 

Through  thronged  bazaar,  concealed  hareem  and  cool  kiosk  : 
'  In  the  Prophet's  name,  God  is  God,  and  there  is  no  other.' 
On  roofs,  in  streets,  alone  or  close  beside  his  brother. 


292      THE  RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

On  hearing  that  cry  the  people,  wherever  they  may 
be,  perform  their  oblations  with  water  or  sand,  pros- 
trate themselves  and  silently  go  through  their  devo- 
tional ritual.  Prayer  is  called  "  the  key  of  Paradise." 
It  consists  chiefly  in  repeating  the  hundred  names  and 
other  magical  portions  of  scripture.  The  most  meri- 
torious act  of  devotion  is  the  repetition  of  Al-Fatiha, 
the  opening  surah  of  the  Koran.  (3)  Keeping  the 
thirty  days'  fast  of  Ramadan.  During  this  holy  month 
no  Moslem  is  allowed  to  eat,  drink,  or  smoke  from 
dawn,  when  there  is  light  enough  to  distinguish  be- 
tween a  black  and  a  white  thread,  until  sunset.  During 
the  nights,  however,  he  may  do  pretty  much  as  he 
pleases.  The  fast  terminates  with  the  festival  of  Eed- 
al-Fitr,  or  breakfast,  which  is  celebrated  with  great  re- 
joicing. (4)  Performing  the  legal  alms.  The  common 
saying  is,  "  Prayer  carries  us  halfway  to  God,  fasting 
brings  us  to  his  door,  but  alms  admit  us."  The  system 
of  almsgiving,  aside  from  relieving  the  necessities  of 
the  poor,^  furnishes  the  material  strength  of  the  Mos- 

Each  Moslem  kneels,  his  forehead  turned  toward  Mecca's  shrine, 
And  all  the  world  forgotten  in  one  thought  divine." 

Alger's  Oriental  Poetry,  p.  137. 

"^  A  Sermon  on  Charity,  said  to  have  been  preached  by  Mohammed : 
"  When  God  made  the  earth  it  shook  to  and  fro  till  he  put  mountains 
on  it  to  keep  it  firm.  Then  the  angels  asked, '  O  God,  is  there  anything 
in  thy  creation  stronger  than  these  mountains  ?'  And  God  replied, 
*  Iron  is  stronger  than  the  mountains,  for  it  breaks  them.' — 'And  is 
there  anything  in  thy  creation  stronger  than  iron  ?' — '  Yes,  fire  is 
stronger  than  iron,  for  it  melts  it.' — *  Is  there  anything  stronger  than 
fire  ?' — *  Yes,  water,  for  it  quenches  fire.' — '  Is  there  anything  stronger 
than  water?' — 'Yes,  wind,  for  it  puts  water  in  motion.' — 'O  our  Sus- 
tainer,  is  there  anything  in  thy  creation  stronger  than  wind  ?' — '  Yes,  a 


ISLAM.  293 

lem  government.  (5)  The  pilgrimage  to  Mecca.^  This 
is  required  of  all  believers :  if  they  would  make  sure 

good  man  giving  alms :  if  he  give  it  with  his  right  hand  and  conceal  it 
from  his  left,  he  overcomes  all  things.  Every  good  act  is  charity :  your 
smiling  in  your  brother's  face,  your  putting  a  waiiderer  in  the  right 
road,  your  giving  water  to  the  thirsty,  is  charity ;  exhortation  to  another 
to  do  right  is  charity.  A  man's  true  wealth  hereafter  is  the  good  he 
has  done  in  this  world  to  his  fellow -men.  When  he  dies  people  will 
ask,  What  property  has  he  left  behind  him  ?  But  the  angels  will  ask, 
What  good  deeds  has  he  sent  before  him.' " 

^  The  following  vivid  description  of  the  departure  for  Mecca  is  by 
Rev.  T.  p.  Hughes  in  The  Missionary  Gleaner :  "  The  mahmal  is  a 
velvet  canopy  which  the  pilgrims  convey  to  and  from  Mecca.  It  is  a 
square  frame  of  wood  with  a  pyramidal  top,  with  a  rich  covering  of  em- 
broidered velvet,  surmounted  with  silver  balls  and  crescents.  As  far  as 
I  could  ascertain,  the  canopy  was  empty,  it  being  merely  carried  with 
the  pilgrims  as  an  emblem  of  royalty.  The  origin  of  the  ceremony  is 
said  by  some  to  be  as  follows : 

"  '  Shegur-ud-durr,  a  beautiful  Turkish  female  slave,  who  became  the 
wife  of  Sultan  Salah,  on  the  death  of  his  son  caused  herself  to  be  pro- 
claimed queen  of  Egypt,  and  performed  the  pilgrimage  in  a  magnificent 
hodaq,  or  covered  litter,  borne  on  a  camel.  For  several  successive  years 
the  empty  hodaq  was  sent  with  the  caravan  of  pilgrims  for  the  sake  of 
state.  Hence,  succeeding  princes  of  Egypt  sent  with  each  year's  pil- 
grimage a  kind  of  hodaq  (which  received  the  name  of  mahmal)  as  an 
emblem  of  royalty,  and  the  kings  of  other  countries  followed  their 
example.' 

"  At  seven  o'clock  in  the  mornmg  all  the  leading  officers  of  state 
assembled  in  a  portico  erected  below  the  citadel  to  receive  the  two 
Egyptian  princes,  a  vacant  seat  being  left  for  the  viceroy.  The  officers 
were  all  dressed  in  French  uniform  with  the  usual  Turkish  fez  cap — the 
only  persons  in  turbans  being  two  Mohammedan  moulvies.  The  roads 
were  lined  with  troops,  and  as  the  royal  party  arrived  the  bands  struck 
up  the  Egyptian  national  air.  There  were  a  number  of  European  visit- 
ors, including  the  American  ambassador  from  Berlin,  one  English  peer 
and  an  English  member  of  Parliament. 

"  After  the  arrival  of  the  princes  there  was  a  pause  in  the  ceremonial, 
and  the  uninitiated  in  Egyptian  etiquette  were  on  the  tiptoe  of  expecta- 
tion.    Were  they  waiting  for  the  khedive  ?     After  a  few  minutes  a  car- 


294      THE  RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

of  Paradise,  they  must,  at  some  time  during  their  lives, 
make  the  seven  circuits  of  the  Kaaba,  say  their  prayers 
within  its  confines  and  kiss  the  black  stone. 

Such  is  the  Mohammedan  idea  of  religion.  It  is 
purely  a  ceremonial  system.  It  suggests  no  such  thing 
as  regeneration  or  other  spiritual  change,  nor  any  real 
communion  with  God.  There  'have,  of  course,  been 
Moslems  who  have  passed  beyond  and  above  the 
narrow  and  sordid  limits  of  Islam — who  have  seen 
through  the  fraud  and  emptiness  and  have  dreamed 
of  better  things.  Witness  the  refreshing  spirituality 
of  the  following  by  a  Sufi  poet,  entitled  "  The  Re- 
ligion of  the  Heart:" 

riage  drove  up  in  regal  state,  and  there  stepped  forth  an  old  Moham- 
medan priest.  It  was  the  Sheikh-ul-Islam,  the  archbishop  and  lord 
chancellor  of  Egypt.  Of  course  royalty  must  be  kept  waiting  for  this 
representative  of  orthodox  Islam.  The  whole  assembly  rose  and  re- 
ceived the  venerable  old  man  with  becoming  respect,  and  then  the  sig- 
nal was  given  for  the  mahmal  procession  to  move  on. 

"  Amidst  the  din  of  fifes  and  drums  and  the  wild  Egyptian  national 
air,  the  shouts  of  the  dervishes,  *  Allah  !  Allah  !  Allah  !'  and  the  tink- 
ling of  bells,  the  canopy,  which  was  borne  upon  the  back  of  a  fine  tall 
camel,  approached  the  sheikh  and  the  royal  princes.  The  procession 
was  headed  by  a  fat,  long-haired,  brawny  fellow  (a  dervish),  almost 
naked,  who  incessantly  rolled  his  head  to  and  fro,  shouting  *  Allah ! 
Allah !  Allah  !'  The  mahmal  was  surrounded  by  a  guard  of  horse- 
men, and  the  people  kept  running  round  it,  shouting  in  the  most  frantic 
manner.  When  it  came  opposite  the  princes,  they,  in  company  with 
the  Sheikh-ul-Islam,  approached  it  with  the  greatest  veneration  and 
touched  it,  uttering  some  pious  ejaculation.  This  was  done  by  all  the 
officials :  then  the  procession  moved  on,  and  encamped  outside  the  city 
gate  until  the  next  day,  when  the  caravan  left  to  perform  the  haji,  or 
pilgrimage  to  Mecca.  The  merits  of  it  are  so  great  that  every  step  taken 
in  the  direction  of  the  Kaaba  (the  great  shrine  at  Mecca)  blots  out  a 
sin,  and  he  who  dies  on  his  way  to  Mecca  is  enrolled  on  the  list  of 
martyrs  P 


ISLAM.  295 

"  Beats  there  a  heart  within  that  breast  of  thine  ? 
Then  compass  reverently  its  sacred  shrine : 
For  the  true  spiritual  Kaaba  is  the  heart, 
And  no  proud  pile  of  perishable  art. 
When  God  ordained  the  pilgrim  rite,  that  sign 
"Was  meant  to  lead  thy  thought  to  things  divine  : 
A  thousand  times  he  treads  that  round  in  vain 
"Who  e'en  one  human  heart  would  idly  pain. 
Leave  wealth  behind ;  bring  God  thy  heart — best  light 
To  guide  thy  wavering  steps  through  life's  dark  night. 
God  spurns  the  riches  of  a  thousand  coffers. 
And  says,  *  My  chosen  is  he  his  heart  who  offers. 
Nor  gold  nor  silver  seek  I,  but  above 
All  gifts  the  heart,  and  buy  it  with  my  love ; 
Yea,  one  sad,  contrite  heart,  which  men  despise. 
More  than  my  throne  and  fixed  decree  I  prize.' 
Then  think  not  lowly  of  thy  heart,  though  lowly, 
For  holy  is  it,  and  there  dwells  the  Holy. 
God's  presence-chamber  is  the  human  breast ; 
"^  Ah,  happy  he  whose  heart  holds  such  a  guest !"  ^ 

The  fact  remains,  however,  that  with  the  vast  ma- 
jority this  system  is  a  dry  and  empty  shell.  To  the 
question,  "  What  shall  I  do  to  be  saved  ?"  the  invaria- 

*  From  Alger's  Oriental  Poetry.     In  the  following  may  be  found 
a  similar  reference  to  the  spirituality  of  true  worship: 

"THE  UNWALLED  HOUSE  OF  GOD. 

"  The  holy  Nanac  on  the  ground,  one  day 
Reclining,  with  his  feet  toward  Mecca  lay. 
A  passing  Moslem  priest,  offended,  saw. 
And,  flaming  for  the  honor  of  his  law. 
Exclaimed,  '  Base  infidel,  thy  prayers  repeat ! 
Toward  Allah's  house  how  dar'st  thou  turn  thy  feet  ?' 
Before  the  Moslem's  shallow  accents  died 
The  pious  but  indignant  Nanac  cried, 
*  And  turn  them,  if  thou  canst,  toward  any  spot 
Wherein  the  awful  House  of  God  is  not.' " 


296  THE  RELIGIONS   OF' THE    WORLD. 

ble  answer  is,  Do  your  duty;  that  is,  Stand  by  the 
Five  Pillars  and  submit  to  the  divine  will. 

IV.  yurisprudence. — In  this  religion  we  find  a  com- 
bination of  the  secular  and  spiritual  power.  Dr.  Jessup 
says :  "  It  is  a  politico-religious  system.  The  sultan 
is  the  caliph  or  successor  of  Mohammed.  He  is  the 
prophet,  priest  and  king  of  the  Mohammedan  world. 
The  laws  of  the  empire  are  based  on  the  Koran,  the 
decisions  of  the  imams  and  Mohammedan  tradition. 
In  Turkey  the  imperial  army  is  a  religious  army,  the 
great  national  festivals  are  religious  festivals,  testimony 
is  a  religious  act,  and  Mohammedanism  is  thus  in- 
trenched in  the  very  political  and  civil  organization 
of  the  empire."  Back  of  this  close  wedlock  of  Church 
and  State  we  find  in  the  Koran  an  elaborate  legal 
code. 

War  against  the  Infidel. — The  first  civil  injunction 
of  the  Koran  is  aimed  at  the  extermination  of  the  in- 
fidel :  "  When  ye  encounter  the  unbelievers,  strike  off 
their  heads !"  This  is  in  marked  contrast  with  the 
spirit  of  the  gospel  of  Christ,  who  said,  "  Love  your 
enemies,  bless  them  that  curse  you,  do  good  to  them 
that  hate  you,  and  pray  for  them  which  despitefully 
use  you  and  persecute  you."^ 

Slavery. — By  the  Koran  law  slavery  also  is  made  to 
rest  on  divine  authority.      In  countries  where  Islam 

1  "  Light  and  darkness  are  not  more  opposed  than  the  loving  dictates 
of  the  gospel  and  the  vengeful  spirit  of  the  Koran,  in  which  hatred  and 
oppression  take  the  place  of  love  and  forgiveness  of  injuries,  and  the 
denunciations  of  the  prophet  contrast  v^'x'Csx  the  voice  of  the  Good  Shep- 
herd, which  speaks  of  peace  and  good-will  to  all  mankind." — Islam^ 
p.  238. 


ISLAM.  297 

prevails  it  is  absolutely  impossible  that  there  should 
be  freedom  or  equality  among  men.^ 

Polygamy. — Polygamy  also  is  upheld  and  advocated. 
The  prophet  himself  practiced  it.  Frederick  D.  Maurice 
says :  "  Polygamy  is  no  accident  of  Mohammedanism  : 
a  careful  consideration  of  the  system  will  show  that  it 
must  fall  to  pieces  the  moment  any  reformer  shall  un- 
dertake to  remove  this  characteristic  of  it."  In  con- 
sequence of  the  debasement  of  the  marriage  relation 
the  condition  of  woman  among  the  Moslems  is  wholly 
lamentable.  She  is  regarded  as  a  lower  order  of  being, 
unreasoning  and  incapable  of  self-control,  never  the 
helpmate,  but  the  slave,  of  man.^ 

^  **  The  religion  of  Islam  is  an  outward  form,  a  hard  shell  of  au- 
thority, hollow  at  heart.  It  constantly  tends  to  the  two  antagonistic 
but  related  vices  of  luxury  and  cruelty.  Under  the  profession  of  Islam 
polytheism  and  idolatry  have  always  prevailed  in  Arabia.  In  Turkistan, 
where  slavery  is  an  extremely  cruel  system,  they  make  slaves  of  Mos- 
lems in  defiance  of  the  Koran.  One  chief  being  appealed  to  by  Vam- 
bery  (who  traveled  as  a  dervish),  replied,  '  We  buy  and  sell  the  Koran 
itself,  which  is  the  holiest  thing  of  all.  Why  not  buy  and  sell  Mussul- 
mans, who  are  less  holy  ?' '' — Clarke's  Ten  Great  Religions,  p.  478. 

2  "  It  may  be  well  to  consider  what  the  teaching  of  the  Koran  is  on 
the  subject.  In  the  fourth  Surah,  entitled  '  Women,'  among  various  di- 
rections regarding  their  years  of  orphanage,  inheritances,  chastity  and 
the  forbidden  degrees,  permission  is  given  to  the  faithful  '  to  take  two 
or  three  or  four,  and  not  more,'  women  as  wives,  and  in  addition  to 
these,  as  concubines,  the  slave-girls  *  which  their  right  hands  possess ' 
(Surah  Ixx.),  that  is,  purchased  or  made  captive  in  war.  In  reality, 
the  number  of  wives  is  practically  unlimited,  as  the  Koran  allows  an 
almost  unchecked  power  of  divorce  and  exchange.  The  action  of  the 
husband,  who  is  expressly  stated  to  be  superior  to  the  wife,  is  nearly 
uncontrolled.  He  may  repudiate  his  wives  without  any  assigned  reason 
and  without  warning — may,  if  apprehensive  of  disobedience,  rebuke, 
imprison  and  strike  them  (Surah  iv.) ;  and  against  this  the  dishonored 
spouse  has  almost  no  means  of  redress.     Exposed  to  the  tyranny  of  her 


298  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

As  somewhat  of  good  is  to  be  found  in  every  relig- 
ious system,  we  here  discover  not  a  few  healthful  pre- 

husband  and  treated  as  a  kind  of  plaything — a  being  formed  for  lust 
and  labor,  to  be  capriciously  flung  aside  on  the  least  provocation  or  in 
a  moment  of  anger  or  for  mere  dislike — she  is  worse  than  a  slave." — 
Islam,  p.  150. 

In  this  connection  it  will  be  interestifig  to  note  the  efficacy  of  recent 
missionary  work  in  the  zenanas.  The  following  (from  the  Presbyterian 
Foreign  Missionary)  is  a  translation  of  a  Mohammedan  proclamation 
issued  in  Lahore  in  1866: 

"MUSSULMANS   ON   ZENANA   MISSIONS. 

"  We  have  received  a  translation  of  a  proclamation  that  has  been 
issued  to  the  Mussulman  population  of  Lahore.  We  believe  that  it  is 
not  confined  to  Lahore,  but  has  also  made  a  stir  in  Amritsar  and  Sialkot. 
It  bears  remarkable  testimony  to  the  efficacy  of  the  work  done  in  zenana 
schools.     It  runs  as  follows : 

"*THE   SOCIETY   FOR   THE   PROMOTION   OF   ISLAM. 

"  '  Educaiion  of  Women, 
*"  In  the  name  of  God  the  merciful  and  gracious.' 

**  *  O  believers,  save  yourselves  and  your  families  from  the  fires  of  hell.' 
"  *  O  readers,  a  thing  is  taking  place  which  deserves  your  attention, 
and  which  you  will  not  find  it  difficult  to  check.  Females  need  such 
education  as  is  necessary  to  save  them  from  the  fires  of  hell.  The  Quran 
and  the  traditions  teach  this  necessity,  and  two  great  philosophers  say, 
**  Home  is  the  best  school;"  but  to  make  it  so  women  must  be  taught. 
We  are  doing  nothing,  but  are  trying  to  destroy  our  children.  Although 
■we  are  able  to  teach  our  own  girls,  yet  wherever  you  go  you  find  zenana 
mission-schools  filled  with  our  daughters.  There  is  no  alley  or  house 
where  the  effect  of  these  schools  is  not  felt.  There  are  few  of  our 
women  who  did  not,  in  their  childhood,  learn  and  sing  in  the  presence 
of  their  teachers  such  hymns  as  "  He  to  Isa,  Isa  bol  "  ('*  Take  the  name 
of  Jesus  "),  and  few  of  our  girls  who  have  not  read  the  Gospels.  They 
know  Christianity  and  the  objections  to  Islam,  and  whose  faith  has  not 
been  shaken  ?  The  freedom  which  Christian  women  possess  is  influ- 
encing all  our  women.  They,  being  ignorant  of  the  excellencies  of 
their  own  religion,  and  bemg  taught  that  those  things  in  Islam  which 
are  really  good  are  not  really  good,  will  never  esteem  their  own  religion. 


ISLAM.  299 

cepts  touching  the  well-being  of  men  in  their  civil  and 
social  relations.^     A  strict  prohibition  is  placed  upon 

*' '  Umar,  one  of  Mohammed's  four  bosom  friends,  was  fond  of  read- 
ing the  books  of  Moses  and  the  Gospels,  but  Mohammed  forbade  him, 
saying,  "  These  may  lead  you  in  the  wrong  way."  How  much  more 
danger,  then,  is  there  in  our  little  daughters  reading  them! 

"  '  There  are  multitudes  of  missionaries  in  the  land  whose  object  is  to 
destroy  your  religion.  They  see  that  the  condition  of  a  country  de- 
pends on  the  condition  of  the  women,  and  therefore  they  send  women 
to  teach  ours  to  work  and  read,  and  at  the  same  time  to  sow  the  seeds 
of  hatred  to  Islam. 

"  '  Christian  women  teach  Mohammedan  women  that  they  should  have 
the  liberty  which  they  possess,  and  the  Mohammedan  teachers  in  these 
schools,  who  are  only  nominal  Mohammedans,  by  pretending  to  teach 
the  Quran  draw  our  daughters  into  these  schools,  and  then  teach  them 
the  gospel  and  hymns.  For  a  little  while  they  may  teach  the  Quran, 
but  when  the  missionary  lady  comes  in  they  hide  it  under  a  mat  or  throw 
it  into  some  unclean  place,  into  which  if  a  man  had  thrown  it  he  might 
have  been  sent  to  prison.  And  as  long  as  the  lady  is  present  they  teach 
Christianity  and  expose  Mohammedism.  Can  we  be  pleased  with  such 
instruction  as  this  ?  O  believers,  why  not  teach  your  children  Chris- 
tianity instead  of  your  own  religion  ? 

"  '  How  far  has  this  religion  influenced  our  women  ?  So  far  has  the 
love  of  liberty  extended  among  our  daughters  and  daughters-in-law  that 
they  get  into  carriages  with  these  teachers,  go  to  the  Shalamar  garden, 
bathe  in  the  tank,  sit  at  table  and  eat,  and  then  make  a  quantity  of  tea 
disappear.'  " 

^  "  In  the  midst  of  all  these  revelations  there  occur  here  and  there 
excellent  moral  sentiments  to  which  no  exception  can  be  taken.  Thus 
the  duty  of  helping  the  poor,  of  relieving  the  needy  traveler  and  of 
doing  justice  to  the  orphan  is  insisted  on.  The  love  and  honor  due  to 
parents  from  their  children,  the  performance  of  covenants  and  the  use 
of  just  weighis  form  part  of  the  believer's  duty.  Liberality  is  com- 
mended, profuseness  condemned.  The  prophet  points  out  how,  at  the 
end  of  the  world,  our  words,  our  thoughts — nay,  the  very  use  of  our 
eyesight — will  be  brought  into  account;  and  he  states  how  desirable  it 
is  for  the  true  believer  to  love  God,  to  pray  to  him  and  to  walk  humbly 
in  his  sight  (Surah  xvii.).  On  the  occurrence  of  such  sentiments  in  the 
Koran  it  maybe  well  to  remember  that  no  civilized  heathen  nation  ever 


300  THE  RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

the  exaction  of  usury,  another  on  infanticide,  another 
on  gambling  and  another  on  the  use  of  intoxicating 
drink.  Thus,  while  the  Mohammedans  are  in  most 
points  an  ungodly  people,  they  are,  as  a  rule,  free  from 
these  particular  sins. 

V.  Fruits  of  the  System.-^Vi  need  scarcely  be  said 
that  a  system  which  so  broadly  divorces  morality  and 
religion  can  have  but  one  result — namely,  utter  moral 
and  spiritual  demoralization.  The  author  of  Gcsta 
Christi  says :  **  In  fact,  the  many  false  and  evil  ele- 
ments of  Mohammedanism  have  made  it  one  of  the 
curses  of  mankind.  It  has  spread  abroad  the  spirit 
of  cruelty  and  lust,  and  under  it  are  found  the  unnat- 
ural vices.  It  could  not  rise  above  its  source.  It 
illustrated  or  exaggerated  everywhere  the  vices  of 
its  leader.  It  left  behind  it,  whether  in  Spain,  Sicily, 
Egypt  or  Bagdad,  anarchy,  corruption  and  horrible 
social  evils."  ^ 

existed  in  which  just,  beautiful  and  sublime  sentiments  were  not  known 
and  recorded  in  its  sacred  books." — Islam,  p.  138. 

^  V AfHque  has  answered  the  apologists  of  Islam  in  a  strain  which 
we  have  thought  quite  worthy  of  a  translation.  It  says:  "It  cannot 
be  denied  that  the  Mohammedan  religion  has  had  the  effect  of  improv- 
ing in  some  measure  the  usages  and  customs  of  its  negro  proselytes. 
Thus,  the  prohibition  of  strong  drink  has  been  salutary ;  they  have  be- 
come neater,  more  respectable  and  more  industrious.  It  could  not  be 
otherwise,  for  contact  with  a  more  civilized  people — and  such  we  con- 
sider the  Arabs  to  be — would  naturally  produce  these  effects.  The 
Arabs  have  also  communicated  a  desire  for  trade  to  the  inhabitants  of 
Soudan,  developing  commercial  activity,  which  the  people  who  are  still 
heathen  do  not  possess.  On  the  other  hand,  has  the  Mohammedan  re- 
ligion abolished  the  many  practices  so  offensive  and  revolting  to  mo- 
rality? Has  it  cured  that  sanguinary  plague  of  Africa,  the  slave-trade  ? 
Has  it  caused  a  cessation  of   the  continual  wars   between  state  and 


ISLAM.  301 

Sensuality. — The  universal  vice  of  the  Moslems  is 
sensuality.  In  this  they  are  encouraged  by  their  book, 
which  distinctly  says,  "  Your  wife  is  your  field,"  and 
by  the  example  of  their  prophet,  who  took  to  himself 
eleven  wives  and  numberless  concubines/  The  institu- 

state?  Does  it  interdict  polygamy?  Does  it  permit  the  entrance  of 
foreigners  and  of  the  torch  of  Christianity  ?  We  are  forced  to  answer 
all  these  questions  in  the  negative.  Can  a  good  influence  be  exercised 
by  a  people  who  consider  the  negro  race  simply  as  so  much  prey  and  a 
source  of  profit — a  people  who  practice  slavery  openly,  and  whose 
national  traits  are  those  of  the  most  eager  and  the  most  fierce  hunters 
of  men?     All  travelers  agree  in  asserting  the  contrary." 

The  following  words  of  King  Mtesa,  quoted  by  H.  M.  Stanley,  show 
also  the  estimate  made  of  the  Mohammedan  character  by  a  discerning 
native  :  "  The  Arabs  come  here  for  ivory  and  slaves,  and  we  have  seen 
that  they  do  not  always  speak  the  truth,  and  that  they  buy  men  of  their 
own  color  and  treat  them  badly,  putting  them  in  chains  and  beating 
them.  The  white  men,  when  offered  slaves,  refuse  them,  saying, '  Shall 
we  make  our  brothers  slaves  ?  No,  we  are  all  sons  of  God.'  I  have 
not  heard  a  white  man  talk  a  lie  yet.  Speke  came  here,  behaved  well 
and  went  his  way  home  with  his  brother  Grant.  They  bought  no  slaves, 
and  the  time  they  were  in  Uganda  they  were  vei"y  good.  Stanley  came 
here  and  would  take  no  slaves.  And  when  I  think  that  the  Arabs  and 
the  white  men  do  as  they  are  taught,  I  say  that  the  white  men  are  superior 
to  the  Arabs,  and  I  think,  therefore,  that  their  book  must  be  a  better  book 
than  Mohammed's." — Presbyterian  Foreign  Missionary,  June,  1880. 

^  "  On  a  certain  day,  Mohammed,  entering  unexpectedly  the  house 
of  Zeid,  had  a  momentary  glimpse  of  the  charms  of  his  beautiful  wife 
and  uttered  a  cry  of  passionate  admiration.  The  circumstance  was  re- 
ported, and  the  disciple  by  an  immediate  divorce  enabled  the  prophet  to 
add  a  new  bride  to  his  harem.  By  these  marriages — for  he  had  then 
six  living  wives — the  legal  number  allowed  to  the  faithful  had  been 
overstepped,  and,  moreover,  his  alliance  with  the  wife  of  his  adopted 
son  was  considered  highly  improper,  if  not  incestuous.  But  Mohammed 
had  an  easy  and  effectual  method  of  silencing  present  scandal  and  avoid- 
ing further  complication  by  an  additional  surah  to  the  Koran ;  thus : 
*  O  Prophet,  we  have  allowed  thee  wives,  and  also  the  slaves  which  thy 
right  hand  possesseth,  and  any  other  believing  woman  if  she  give  her- 


302  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

tion  of  home,  as  it  is  established  and  fostered  under 
the  benign  influences  of  the  gospel  of  Christ,  yielding 
such  blessing  and  peace,  is  unknown  in  the  Moham- 
medan world.  The  harem  yields  the  highest  type  of 
earthly  happiness,  as  understood  by  Mohammedans, 
and  one  of  the  most  splendid  surahs  of  the  Koran 
contains  a  promise  of  seventy-two  black-eyed  houris 
to  the  meanest  of  the  prophet's  followers  on  reaching 
the  other  world. 

Cruelly. — It  is  usually  the  case  that  sensuality  goes 
hand  in  hand  with  cruelty.  They  are  twin  vices.  The 
Mohammedans  are  the  most  cold-blooded  and  implac- 
able people  on  earth.  The  hand  of  Islam,  the  Ishmaelitic 
faith,  is  against  every  man.  It  is  related  that  after  the 
battle  of  Badr  one  of  the  prisoners  who  were  brought 
before  the  prophet  cried  out,  "  There  is  death  in  thy 
glance !"  Another  of  them,  on  being  ordered  for  exe- 
cution, asked  in  anguish,  '*  Who  will  take  care  of  my  little 
girl  ?"  The  prophet  answered  "  Hell-fire,"  and  com- 
manded him  to  be  immediately  slain.  In  this  religion 
war  is  a  divine  ordinance,  a  sacrament.  It  is  written 
in  the  Koran,  "  O  Prophet,  stir  up  the  faithful  to  war ! 
As  to  those  who  fight  in  defence  of  the  true  religion, 
God  will  not  suffer  their  works  to  perish,  but  will  lead 
them  into  Paradise."  The  pathway  of  Islam  all  along 
the  centuries  has  been  red  with  blood.  In  the  great 
Mohammedan  university  in  Cairo,^  where  ten  thousand 

self  and  the  prophet  desireth  to  take  her  to  wife.  This  is  a  peculiar  priv- 
ilege granted  thee  above  the  rest  of  the  believers'  (Surah  xxxiii,)." — 
Islam,  p.  i6i. 

*  For  a  most  interesting  sketch  of  this  great  university  see  the  Pres- 
byterian Foreign  Missionary  for  January,  1878. 


ISLAM.  303 

students  are  assembled  to  study  the  Koran  and  pre- 
pare themselves  to  propagate  the  true  religion,  a  prayer 
is  offered  eveiy  evening  which  is  thus  translated  by  Dr. 
Jessup :  "  I  seek  refuge  with  Allah  from  Satan  the  ac-  . 
cursed  !  In  the  name  of  Allah  the  Compassionate,  the 
Merciful !  O  Lord  of  all  creatures  !  O  Allah  !  destroy 
the  infidels  and  polytheists,  thine  enemies,  the  enemies 
of  the  religion !  O  Allah !  make  their  children  orphans 
and  defile  their  abodes!  Cause  their  feet  to  slip;  give 
them  and  their  families,  their  households  and  their 
women,  their  children  and  their  relations  by  marriage, 
their  brothers  and  their  friends,  their  possessions  and 
their  race,  their  wealth  and  their  lands,  as  booty  to  the 
Moslems,  O  Lord  of  all  creatures !" 

It  is  obvious  that  a  religion  of  this  character  cannot 
withstand  the  benignant  influences  of  advancing  civili- 
zation. It  belongs  to  dark  ages  and  benighted  lands. 
Its  methods  are  distinctly  barbaric.  Its  Yemen  blade 
will  prove  no  better  than  a  willow  withe  against  the 
sword  of  the  Spirit,  which  is  the  word  of  God,^   and 

1  "  Strong  only  as  a  military  theocracy,  Islam  as  a  creed  was  a  mix- 
ture of  fatal  apathy  with  sensual  hopes,  and  did  but  repeat  the  same 
mechanical  formula  with  lips  of  death.  Checked  in  Europe  by  a  long 
line  of  Christian  heroes  from  Charles  Martel  to  John  Hunniades,  and 
from  Hunniades  to  Sobieski,  its  aggressive  power  was  broken.  It  now 
acts  only  as  a  gradual  decay  in  every  nation  over  which  it  dominates. 
The  traveler  in  Palestine  may  be  shocked  to  see  even  the  fair  hill  of 
Nazareth  surmounted  by  the  white-domed  wely  of  an  obscure  Moham- 
medan saint ;  but  he  will  be  reassured  as  he  notices  that  in  every  town 
and  village  where  Christians  are  there  are  activity  and  vigor,  while  all 
the  places  which  are  purely  Islamite  look  as  if  they  had  been  smitten 
as  with  the  palsy  by  some  withering  and  irreparable  curse." — Farrar's 
Witness  of  History  to  Christy  p.  1 14. 


304      THE  RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

which  no  power  of  earth  can  resist  or  withstand.    Here 
is  the  contrast : 

"  Mohammed's  truth  lay  in  a  holy  book ; 
Christ's  in  a  sacred  life. 

"  So  while  the  world  rolls  on  from  change  to  change, 
And  realms  of  thought  expand, 
The  letter  stands  without  expanse  or  range, 
Stiff  as  a  dead  man's  hand. 

"  While  as  the  life-blood  fills  the  growing  form, 
The  spirit  Christ  has  shed 
Flows  through  the  ripening  ages  fresh  and  warm, 
More  felt  than  heard  or  read."  ' 

The  green  banner  of  Islam  and  its  garments  rolled 
in  blood  must  presently  be  folded  and  laid  away,  for 
Shiloh  comes ;  the  early  twilight  of  his  appearing 
already  overspreads  the  earth. 

1  Lord  Houghton,  quoted  by  Dr.  Lees. 


X. 

THE  TRUE  RELIGION. 


20 


Conclusions  from  the  foregoing  Survey  : 
I.  The  Religious  Instinct  is  Universal. 
II.  There  is  Truth  in  all  Religions. 

(i)  As  to  God  ;   (2)  As  to  Morals  ;   (3)  As  to  the  Essen- 
tial Christ. 

III.  All  the  Religions  thus  far  considered  are  Vitally  Defective. 

IV.  All  of  these  are  Unfit  for  Universal  Diffusion. 

V.  Three  Necessary  Characteristics  of  the  True  Religion  : 
(i)  Pleroma;   (2)  Faultlessness ;  (3)  Power  to  Save. 
VI.  Christianity  has  these  Characteristics. 
The  Cardifial  Truths  of  Christianity  :  , 

(i)  As  to  God. 

(2)  As  to  Man. 

(3)  As  to  Man's  Relations  with  God. 

"  What  shall  I  do  to  be  saved  ?" 
Christian  Morals. 
Central  Truth  :  Christ  : 

(i)  As  the  Manifestation  of  God;  (2)  As  the  Sin-bearer; 
(3)  As  the  Ideal  Man. 
Christianity  the  True  Religion. 


X.  THE  TRUE  RELIGION. 

We  want  a  definition  of  "  Religion."  There  are 
various  theories  as  to  the  origin  of  the  word.  By 
some  it  is  alleged  to  be  an  offshoot  from  re-legere, 
**  to  read  over " — /.  e.  to  form  an  opinion  or  system 
of  opinions  from  the  things  which  have  been  written 
touching  the  great  spiritual  problems.  By  others — 
and  with  equal  plausibility — it  is  thought  to  have 
come  from  re-ligare,  "  to  bind  back  " — i.  e.  to  restore 
the  soul  to  its  original  relation  of  friendship  with 
God.  The  first  of  these  derivations  places  the  em- 
phasis on  creed ;  the  second,  on  cultus,  by  which  is 
meant  the  expression  of  one's  creed  in  worship  and 
conduct  of  life.  A  combination  of  both,  however  it 
may  offend  the  principles  of  philology,  will  yield 
the  best  definition  of  religion  ^ — to  wit :  a  creed  plus  a 

^  " '  Religio  est,  quae  superioris  cujusdam,  naturse,  quam  Divinam 
vocant,  curam  ceremoniamque  affert.' — Cicero. 

"  Professor  Whitney  of  Yale  says :  '  A  religion  is  the  belief  in  a  super- 
natural being  or  beings  whose  actions  are  seen  in  the  works  of  creation, 
and  in  such  relations  on  the  part  of  man  toward  this  being  or  beings  as 
prompt  the  believer  to  acts  of  propitiation  and  worship  and  to  the  regu- 
lation of  conduct.' 

"  Professor  Kostlin  of  Halle  says :  *  Religion  means  the  conscious 
relation  between  man  and  God,  and  the  expression  of  that  relation  in 
human  conduct.' 

"  According  to  Mr.  Herbert  Spencer,  religion  may  be  defined  as  an 
*  a-priori  theory  of  the  universe ;'  and  there  is,  the  writer  tells  us,  a 

3or 


308  THE   RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

cultus.  If  a  system  can  be  found  presenting  a  faultless 
and  comprehensive  creed  and  system  of  belief,  with 
appropriate  forms  of  worship  and  a  code  of  morals,  not 
merely  as  parchment  symbols,  but  inscribed  deep  on 
the  tablets  of  the  inner  man  and  vitally  manifested  in 
the  "walk  and  conversation,"  that  must  ho.^ par  excel- 
lence, the  true  religion  (James  i  :  22-27).  ^^  is  our 
belief  that  these  conditions  are  met  fully  and  only  by 
the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Conclusions  from  our  Survey. — From  our  survey  of 
the  great  systems  we  arrive  at  certain  conclusions,  as 
follows : 

I.   The  Religious  Instinct  is  Universal} — For 

subsidiary  and  unessential  element  in  x-eligion — namely,  the  moral  teach- 
ing— '  which  is  in  all  cases  a  supplementary  growth.'  *  Leaving  out,' 
he  says,  *  the  accompanying  moral  code,  which  is  in  all  cases  a  supple- 
mentary growth,  religion  may  be  defined  as  an  a-priori  theory  of  the 
universe.'  But  it  is  clear  that  this  definition  would  not  be  universally 
accepted,  for  we  find  Mr.  Matthew  Arnold  saying  in  his  Literature  and 
Dogma  that  '  Religion,  if  we  follow  the  intent  of  human  thought  and 
human  language  in  the  use  of  the  word,  is* ethics,  heightened,  enlight- 
ened, lit  up  by  feeling;  the  passage  from  morality  to  religion  is  made 
when  to  morality  is  applied  emotion  ;  and  the  true  meaning  of  religion 
is  not  simply  morality,  but  morality  touched  by  emotion.'  Mr.  Max 
Miiller  has  defined  religion  more  simply  as  the  sensus  mwiinis,  the  sense 
of  our  dependence  upon  some  thing  (or  some  one)  else.  *  All  nations 
join,  in  some  way  or  other,  in  the  words  of  the  Psalmist :  "  He  hath 
made  us,  and  not  we  ourselves."  '  " — Keary's  Outlines  of  Primitive 
Beliefs,  p.  4. 

^  "  Religion  is  a  universal  fact.  It  is  found  among  all  nations.  How- 
ever ruined,  alienated,  degraded  they  may  be,  there  exists  in  all  a  uni- 
versal instinct,  seeking  its  satisfaction  and  manifesting  itself  in  religious 
forms  and  ceremonies.  '  You  may  see  states,'  says  Plutarch,  '  without 
walls,  without  laws,  without  coins,  without  writing;  but  a  people  with- 
out a  god,  without  prayer,  without  religious  exercises  and  sacrifices,  has 
no  man  seen.'    For  a  consciousness  of  the  existence  of  God  everywhere 


THE    TRUE  RELIGION.  3O9 

•'  E'en  in  savage  bosoms 
There  are  longings,  yearnings,  strivings 
For  the  good  they  comprehend  not." 

In  St.  Paul's  presentation  of  the  status  of  the  pagan 
nations  (Rom.  1:19,  20)  he  says  that  God  hath  mani- 
fested unto  them  the  things  which  may  be  known  con- 
cerning him  ;  "  for  the  invisible  things  of  him  since  the 
creation  of  the  world  are  clearly  seen,  being  perceived 
through  the  things  that  are  made,  even  his  everlasting 
power  and  divinity."  Thus  they  have  both  the  holy 
aspiration  and  the  sufficient  response.  As  the  hart 
panteth  for  the  water-brooks,  so  does  the  universal 
heart  of  man  pant  after  God.  Everywhere  we  find 
this  thirst  for  the  living  God.  Nor  has  he  ever  or 
anywhere  left  himself  without  a  witness.  All  nature 
is  an  open  book  of  theology,  the  air  is  resonant  with 
voices  of  divine  invitation ; 

"  And  as  the  waxing  moon  can  take 
The  tidal  waters  in  her  wake, 
And  lead  them  round  and  round  to  break 
Obedient  to  her  drawings  dim, 

exists,  and  man  cannot  think  of  God  without  attributing  to  himself  some 
kind  of  relation  toward  him." — Luthardt's  Fundamental  Truths  of 
Christianity,  p.  147. 

"  Columbus  at  first  indulged  in  the  error  that  the  natives  of  Hayti 
were  destitute  of  all  notions  of  religion,  and  he  had  consequently  flat- 
tered himself  that  it  would  be  the  easier  to  introduce  into  their  minds 
the  doctrines  of  Christianity — not  aware  that  it  is  more  difficult  to  light 
up  the  fire  of  devotion  in  the  cold  heart  of  an  atheist  than  to  direct  the 
flame  to  a  new  object  when  it  is  already  enkindled.  There  are  few 
beings,  however,  so  destitute  of  reflection  as  not  to  be  impressed  with 
the  conviction  of  an  oven-uling  Deity.  A  nation  of  atheists  never  ex- 
isted."— Irving's  Cohunbus,  vi.  chap.  10. 


3IO      THE  RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

So  may  the  movements  of  his  mind, 
The  first  great  Father  of  mankind, 
Affect  with  answering  movements  blind, 
And  draw  the  souls  that  breathe  by  him." 

The  false  religions  are  the  "  movements  blind "  with 
which  the  world  has  answered  the  "  dim  drawings " 
of  God.  It  is  thus  that  the  nations  "  haply  feel  after 
him"  (Acts  17  :  27). 

II.  Truth  in  all  Religions. — We  find,  therefore,  a 
modicum  of  truth  in  every  one  of  the  religions  of  the 
globe.  It  is  by  no  means  necessary  that  in  our  effort 
to  exalt  Christianity  as  the  one  true  religion  we  should 
characterize  all  other  systems  as  false  in  toto.  The  di- 
vineness  of  the  human  soul  is  heard  speaking  more  or 
less  distinctly  through  them  all. 

(i)  God. — Here  is  God  himself,  dimly  outlined,  per- 
haps, like  Michael  Angelo's  picture  of  the  Almighty 
behind  the  huge  clouds  of  chaos,  nevertheless  the  ver- 
itable One.  There  is  a  profound  and  blessed  truth  in 
the  words  with  which  the  archangel  in  Paradise  Lost 
is  represented  as  addressing  Adam  on  his  expulsion 
from  the  garden : 

"  Yet  doubt  not  but  in  valley  and  in  plain 
God  is,  as  here,  and  will  be  found  alike 
Present ;  and  of  his  presence  many  a  sign 
Still  following  thee,  still  compassing  thee  round 
With  goodness  and  parental  love,  his  face 
Express,  and  of  his  steps  the  track  divine." 

We  Christians  must  not  arrogate  to  ourselves  all  of 
the  divine  presence  and  guidance.     If  I  mistake  not, 


THE    TRUE  RELIGION.  3II 

we  have  discovered  in  each  of  the  sacred  books  a  sil- 
houette, if  nothing  more,  of  the  face  of  God. 

(2)  Morals. — We  have  discovered  traces  also  of  "  his 
track  divine;"  that  is,  the  path  of  righteousness.  Each 
of  the  false  religions  has  its  code  of  moral  maxims,  not 
a  few  of  which  are  substantially  identical  with  those  of 
the  Christian  system.  Let  it  be  remembered  that  a  moral 
code  is  the  resultant  of  a  belief  in  God.  It  is  uttered 
forth  not  by  the  still  small  voice  of  Calvary,  but  by 
the  thunders  and  trumpet-blasts  of  Sinai ;  it  is  heard, 
therefore,  not  merely  in  Christian  lands,  but  to  the 
uttermost  parts  of  the  earth.  The  fundamental  prin- 
ciples of  virtue  are  the  common  heritage  of  all  races. 
It  need,  then,  occasion  no  surprise  when  we  hear  the 
familiar  maxims  of  the  moral  law  proceeding  from  the 
lips  of  pagan   oracles,^  nor  even  when  we   read  the 

1  "  In  communicating  his  revelation  to  man,  God  may  have  made, 
and  certainly  did  make,  use  of  pre-existing  elements,  of  ideas  already 
familiar  to  those  whom  he  addressed.  It  may  have  been  that  for  some 
points  of  difficulty  man  had  already  fashioned  true  answers,  or  such  at 
least  as  were  not  far  from  the  truth.  These  the  revelation  would  con- 
firm by  a  declaration  of  their  conformity  with  truth,  a  happy  guess  would 
be  turned  into  certainty,  while  error  would  be  eliminated  and  misap- 
prehension corrected.  It  was  not  necessary  that  everything  should  be 
done  from  the  beginning ;  we  are  not  to  expect  to  find  in  a  divine  rev- 
elation ever)'thing  entirely  new  and  strange.  There  may  have  been,  as 
Mr.  Buckle  says,  excellent  moral  precepts  propounded  and  acted  on 
before  the  introduction  of  Christianity;  was  it  necessary,  therefore,  that 
Christianity  should  ignore  and  pass  them  by,  or  that  it  should  supersede 
eveiything  which  had  already  commended  itself  to  the  conscience  of 
mankind?  Rather  would  we  expect  it  to  acknowledge  and  embody 
such  precepts,  adding  to  them  an  authority  which  they  had  not  pre- 
viously possessed.  There  may,  in  like  manner,  have  been  conceptions 
which,  to  some  extent,  interpreted  and  satisfied  the  religious  need ;  it 
was  not  necessary  that  these  should  be  discarded,  but  that  they  should 


312      THE  RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

Golden  Rule  in  the  annals  of  Confucius,  which  were 
written  five  centuries  before  the  Christian  era. 

(3)  An  Essential  Christ. — Nor  is  this  all.  Alas  for 
the  pagan  world  if  the  whole  measure  of  its  truth  is 
contained  in  these  dim  outlines  of  a  holy  God  and  a 
broken  table  of  law !  But  there  is  something  further 
in  these  false  systems  of  religion  which  we  cannot 
have  overlooked — to  wit,  the  suggestion  of  a  Christ — 
dim,  indeed,  sometimes,  as  a  spectre  walking  in  a 
dream,  but  still  an  "  essential  Christ,"  one  who  shall 
somehow  deliver  the  world  from  the  consequences  of 
man's  ill-doing  and  usher  in  a  golden  age.  The  word 
of  hope  addressed  by  Hermes  to  Prometheus  chained 
to  the  rock  had  in  it  a  prophecy  of  the  glorious  gospel 
of  redemption  by  vicarious  death  almost  as  plain  as 
that  which  glowed  on  the  fire-touched  lips  of  Isaiah : 
"  Thy  suffering  can  never  end  until  a  god  shall  appear 
as  thy  substitute  in  anguish,  ready  to  descend  in  thy 
behalf  into  the  midnight  realms  of  Hades  and  the 
gloomy  depths  of  Tartarus."  And  the  fourth  Eclogue 
of  Virgil,  written  on  the  occasion  of  the  birth  of  Pol- 
lio's  son,  seems  like  an  inspired  welcome  to  Shiloh : 


"  The  last  great  age,  foretold  by  sacred  rhymes, 
Renews  its  finished  course ;  Saturnian  times 
Roll  round  again  ;  and  mighty  years,  begun 
From  their  first  orb,  in  radiant  circles  run. 

be  made  the  foundation  and  the  means  of  further  enlightenment;  nor, 
as  Max  Miiller  says,  should  '  any  doctrine  seem  the  less  true  or  the  less 
precious  because  it  was  seen  not  only  by  Moses  or  Christ,  but  likewise 
by  Buddha  or  Laotse.'  " — Alexander  Stewart,  in  Catholic  Presby- 
terian, i.  6. 


THE    TRUE  RELIGION.  313 

The  base,  degenerate,  iron  offspring  ends, 
A  golden  progeny  from  heaven  descends. — 
See  !  laboring  nature  calls  thee  to  sustain 
The  nodding  frame  of  heaven  and  earth  and  main. 
See  to  their  base  restored  earth,  seas  and  air, 
And  joyful  ages  from  behind  in  crowding  ranks  appear." 

It  is  not  for  us  to  say  whether  such  anticipations  of  a 
great  Deliverer  are  lingering  echoes  of  the  protevangel 
of  Eden  (Gen.  3  :  15),  or  the  expressions  of  an  intuitive 
conviction  that  a  good  God  will  not  leave  a  sin-stricken 
world  to  suffer  an  irremediable  doom  ;  in  any  case,  we 
rejoice  to  know  that  even  the  nations  that  lie  in  dark- 
ness and  the  shadow  of  death  are  not  wholly  Christless. 
They  have  slender  clues  of  gospel  truth,  which,  were 
they  followed,  would  lead  bewildered  souls  out  of  the 
dark  labyrinths  into  the  light.  Thus,  God  is  exonerated 
and  the  nations  are  without  excuse  (Rom.  i  :  20)  if,  be- 
coming vain  in  their  imaginations,  they  choose  the  un- 
broken night  rather  than  the  endless  day.^ 

III.  All  the  False  Religions  air  Vitally  Defective. — 
We  have  found  that  all  these  religions,  notwithstand- 
ing their  contingent  of  truth,  are  vitally  defective.     As 

1  "  We  ought  to  hail  with  gratitude,  instead  of  viewing  with  suspicion, 
the  enunciation  by  heathen  writers  of  truths  which  we  might  at  first 
sight  have  been  disposed  to  regard  as  the  special  heritage  of  Christianity. 
In  Pythagoras  and  Socrates  and  Plato,  in  Seneca,  Epictetus,  and  Marcus 
Aurelius,we  see  the  light  of  heaven  struggling  its  impeded  way  through 
clouds  of  darkness  and  ignorance;  we  thankfully  recognize  that  the 
souls  of  men  in  the  pagan  Avorld,  surrounded  as  they  were  by  perplex- 
ities and  dangers,  were  yet  enabled  to  reflect,  as  from  the  dim  surface 
of  silver,  some  image  of  what  was  divine  and  true ;  we  hail  with  the 
great  and  eloquent  Bossuet,  Hhe  Christianity  of  nature.''  *  The  divine 
image  in  man,'  says  St.  Bernard,  '  may  be  burned,  but  it  cannot  be 
burnt  out.'" — Farrar's  Seekers  after  God,  p.  182. 


314  THE  RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

James  Freeman  Clarke  says  :  "  In  every  instance  we  can 
touch  with  our  finger  the  weak  or  empty  side."  It  is 
true  that  all  nations  have  a  more  or  less  clear  concep- 
tion of  Deity ;  yet,  left  to  themselves,  they  have,  after 
the  manner  of  Confucius,  grown  weary  of  gazing  into 
nebulous  depths,  and  therefore  dispensed  with  God 
altogether;  or,  like  the  Hindus,  have  enlarged  and 
rarefied  the  dimly-outlined  Presence  until  it  has  be- 
come an  all-pervading  Something  or  Nothing,  without 
life  or  personality ;  or  else,  their  foolish  hearts  being 
darkened,  they  have  changed  the  glory  of  the  incor- 
ruptible One  into  the  images  of  men  and  birds  and  four- 
footed  beasts  and  creeping  things.  Thus  the  heathen, 
themselves  being  their  own  witnesses,  knowing  God, 
have  not,  in  any  of  their  religions,  glorified  him  as 
God.  It  is  true  also  that  not  a  few  of  the  sound  prin- 
ciples of  morality  are  found  among  them ;  but  they  are 
like  the  proper  remedies  on  the  shelves  of  a  quack- 
salver :  here  are  salutary  balms  and  balsams  side  by 
side  with  solutions  of  toads'  gall  and  powder  of  ser- 
pents' fangs,  and  all  manner  of  foolish  and  deleterious 
nostrums.  It  were  better,  mayhap,  for  the  sick  to  die 
in  the  course  of  nature  than  to  be  thus  drugged  with 
mingled  truth  and  error. 

It  would  be  a  pleasure,  at  this  point,  to  feel  assured 
that  the  benighted  nations  in  their  extremity  are  greatly 
helped,  possibly  delivered,  by  such  of  their  dreams  and 
visions  as  declare  an  "  essential  Christ ;"  but,  alas  !  the 
very  blood  upon  their  sacrificial  altars  becomes  a  mere 
fetich,  the  symbol  being  put  for  the  thing  symbolized, 
and  the  rising  smoke  of  their  oblations  hides  the  sun. 


THE    TRUE  RELIGION.  315 

IV.  The  False  Religions  Unfit  for  General  Diffusion. — 
These  various  systems  are,  all  alike,  unfit  for  general 
diffusion.    They  are  man-made  and  ethnic.^    They  dis- 

1  "Now,  we  are  met  at  once  with  the  striking  and  obvious  fact  that 
most  of  the  religions  of  the  world  are  evidently  religions  limited  in 
some  way  to  particular  races  or  nations.  They  are,  as  we  have  said, 
ethnic.  We  use  this  Greek  word  rather  than  its  Latin  equivalent,  gen- 
tile,  because  gentile,  though  meaning  literally  '  of  or  belonging  to  a 
race,'  has  acquired  a  special  sense  from  its  New-Testament  use  as  mean- 
ing all  who  are  not  Jews.  The  word  *  ethnic  '  remains  pure  from  any 
such  secondaiy  or  acquired  meaning,  and  signifies  simply  that  which 
belongs  to  a  race?^ — Clarke's  Ten  Great  Religions,  p.  15. 

"  We  find  that  each  race,  besides  its  special  moral  qualities,  seems 
also  to  have  special  religious  qualities,  which  cause  it  to  tend  toward 
some  one  kind  of  religion  more  than  to  another  kind.  These  religions 
are  the  flower  of  the  race ;  they  come  forth  from  it  as  its  best  aroma. 
Thus  we  see  that  Brahmanism  is  confined  to  that  section  or  race  of  the 
great  Aryan  family  which  has  occupied  India  for  more  than  thirty  cen- 
turies. It  belongs  to  the  Hindus,  to  the  people  taking  its  name  from 
the  Indus,  by  the  tributaries  of  which  stream  it  entered  India  from  the 
north-west.  It  has  never  attempted  to  extend  itself  beyond  that  par- 
ticular variety  of  mankind.  Perhaps  one  hundred  and  fifty  millions 
of  men  accept  it  as  their  faith.  It  has  been  held  by  this  race  as  their 
religion  during  a  period  immense  in  the  history  of  mankind.  Its  sacred 
books  are  certainly  more  than  three  thousand  years  old.  But  during  all 
this  time  it  has  never  communicated  itself  to  any  race  of  men  outside 
of  the  peninsula  of  India.  It  is  thus  seen  to  be  a  strictly  ethnic  relig- 
ion, showing  neither  the  tendency  nor  the  desire  to  become  the  religion 
of  mankind. 

"The  same  thing  may  be  said  of  the  religion  of  Confucius.  It  be- 
longs to  China  and  the  Chinese.  It  suits  their  taste  and  genius.  They 
have  had  it  as  their  state  religion  for  some  twenty-three  hundred  years, 
and  it  rules  the  opinions  of  the  rulers  of  opinion  among  three  hundred 
millions  of  men.     But,  out  of  China,  Confucius  is  only  a  name. 

"  So,  too,  of  the  system  of  Zoroaster.  It  was  for  a  long  period  the 
religion  of  an  Aryan  tribe  who  became  the  ruling  people  among  man- 
kind. The  Persians  extended  themselves  through  Western  Asia  and 
conquered  many  nations,  but  they  never  communicated  their  religion. 


3l6  THE  RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

tinctly  bear  the  image  of  their  creators,  and  cannot 
therefore — so  long  as  race-diversities  and  antagonisms 
exist — overspread  the  earth.  The  intense  spirituaHty 
of  Brahmanism,  for  instance,  which  so  highly  com- 
mends it  to  the  transcendental  Hindus,  makes  it  repel- 
lent for  ever  to  those  northern  tribes  who  dwell  where 
the  elements  are  in  perpetual  strife.  The  matter-of-fact 
philosophy  of  Confucius  would  have  produced  among 
the  vivacious  and  romantic  Greeks  an  insufferable  weari- 
ness. Thus,  the  very  strength  of  the  ethnic  systems  de- 
bars them  from  catholic  conquest.  The  religion  which 
is  to  become  universal  must  commend  itself  to  the  uni- 
versal heart  and  conscience ;  to  that  end  its  Author 
must  be  thoroughly  familiar  with  Jew  and  Greek,  bar- 
barian, Scythian,  bond  and  free.  There  is  only  One 
such — namely,  the  God  and  Father  of  us  all. 

"  The  true  religion,  sprung  from  God  above, 
Is — must  be — like  her  fountain, 


It  was  strictly  a  national  or  ethnic  religion,  belonging  only  to  the 
Iranians  and  their  descendants,  the  Parsees. 

"  In  like  manner,  it  may  be  said  that  the  religions  of  Egypt,  of  Greece, 
of  Scandinavia,  of  the  Jews,  of  Islam,  and  of  Buddhism,  are  ethnic 
religions.  Those  of  Egypt  and  Scandinavia  are  strictly  so.  It  is  said, 
to  be  sure,  that  the  Greeks  borrowed  the  names  of  their  gods  from 
Egypt,  but  the  gods  themselves  were  entirely  different  ones.  It  is  also 
true  that  some  of  the  gods  of  the  Romans  were  borrowed  from  the 
Greeks,  but  their  life  was  left  behind.  They  merely  represented  by  rote 
the  Greek  mythology,  having  no  power  to  invent  one  for  themselves. 
But  the  Greek  religion  they  never  received.  For  instead  of  its  fair 
humanities  the  Roman  gods  were  only  servants  of  the  state — a  higher 
kind  of  consuls,  tribunes  and  lictors.  The  real  Olympus  of  Rome  was 
the  Senate  Chamber  on  the  Capitoline  Hill." — Clarke's  Ten  Great 
Religions,  p.  i6. 


THE    TRUE  RELIGION.  31/ 

Embracing  all  things  with  a  tender  love, 
Full  of  good-will  and  meek  expectancy ; 

Full  of  true  justice  and  sure  verity 

In  heart  and  voice  ;  free,  large,  even  infinite ; 

Not  wedged  in  strait  particularity. 

But  grasping  all  in  her  vast,  active  spirit." 

V.  Three  Necessary  Marks  of  the  True  Religion.^Th.is 
true  religion  must  have  three  distinguishing  marks. 

1.  Pleroma,  by  which  is  meant  the  possession  of  all 
excellences.  The  universal  religion,  which  is  to  crowd 
out  Islam  and  Buddhism  with  all  other  competitors, 
must  obviously  so  commend  itself  to  the  Moslem  and 
Buddhist  as  that  they  shall  miss  none  of  the  beneficent 
features  of  their  former  faiths.  It  must  therefore  be 
teres  atqtce  rotundus}  a  compend  and  summary  of  all 
the  excellences  of  all  the  religious  systems  of  the 
world. 

2.  Faultlessness. — In  each  of  the  man-made  systems 
we  detect  points  of  weakness,  theological  or  ethical 
flaws.  There  must  be  an  utter  freedom  from  these  in 
the  religion  which  is  to  bind  the  nations  all  together 
and  back  to  God. 

3.  Power  to  Save. — It  is  not  enough  that  a  religion 
should,  like  Brahmanism,  transport  the  mind  from 
earthly  to  unearthly  realms ;  not  enough  that  it  should, 
like  Buddhism,  bring  back  the  mind  from  unprofitable 
dreams  to  common  tasks  and  duties ;  nor  yet  enough 

^  "  The  question  emerges  at  this  point :  '  Is  Christianity  also  one- 
sided, or  does  it  contain  in  itself  all  these  truths?'  Is  it  teres  atque 
rotundus^  so  as  to  be  able  to  meet  every  natural  religion  with  a  kindred 
truth,  and  thus  to  supply  the  defects  of  each  from  its  own  fullness  ?  If 
it  can  be  shown  to  possess  this  amplitude.,  it  at  once  is  placed  by  itself 
in  an  order  of  its  own." — Ten  Great  Religions,  p.  24. 


3l8  THE   RELIGIONS  OF  THE    WORLD. 

that,  like  the  inspiriting  mythology  of  the  Norseman, 
it  should  perpetually  broaden  the  horizons  of  our  free- 
dom. The  religion  of  the  Greeks  led  them  into  porches 
of  philosophy  and  the  vast  galleries  of  the  liberal  arts, 
while  that  of  the  Egyptians  brought  them,  reverently 
hoodwinked,  into  interminable  labyrinths  of  spiritual 
mystery.  The  philosophy  of  Confucius  maps  out  an 
earthly  kingdom  abiding  in  the  sunshine  of  perpetual 
peace,  while  Islam  unsheaths  the  sword  to  propagate 
the  iron  rule  of  an  infinite  sovereign  whose  figure  over- 
shadows all.  Thus  each  has  its  own  work.  Each  per- 
formed its  office  in  presenting  a  partial  outline  of  many- 
sided  truth,  a  fragmentary  code  of  morals,  or  a  single 
feature — perchance  grim  and  distorted — of  an  infinite 
and  every  way  glorious  God.  The  true  religion,  how- 
ever, must  accomplish  all  that  is  performed  by  all  of 
these  and  something  more — ay,  vastly  more.  It  must 
show  itself  to  be  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation. 
Whatever  its  other  achievements,  this  must  be  its  chef 
d'ceuvre :  it  must  furnish  a  complete  and  satisfactory  an- 
swer to  the  question,  "  What  shall  I  do  that  I  may  have 
eternal  life  ?"  It  must  show  itself  able  to  deliver  human 
souls  from  the  shame,  bondage  and  penalty  of  sin. 

VI.  Christianity  has  these  Marks. — It  is  claimed  that 
the  foregoing  conditions  are  fully  met  in  the  religion 
of  Jesus  Christ.  If  that  claim  be  established,  it  stands 
that  Christianity  is  of  divine  origin  and  must  ultimately 
become  the  religion  of  the  whole  earth.  The  follow- 
ing diagram,  showing  the  leading  excellences  and  de- 
fects of  the  false  systems,  will  abridge  our  labor  at  this 
point : 


THE    TRUE   RELIGION. 


319 


/.   The  Fetich 
Good  Features. 
Central  Thought :  Man  not  his  own 

Master. 
A  Belief  in  the  Unseen. 


Bad  Features. 
Chance,  as  distinguished  from  Prov- 
idence. 
Abject  Superstition. 


//.    The  Religion  of  Egypt. 


Central  Thought:    Reverence  for 

Life. 
Immortality :  The  Ka,  or  Soul. 
The  Maaty  or  Moral  Code. 

///.  Zoroastrianism 


Zoolatry,  or  worship  of  life. 
Mystery,  a  religio  bifrons. 


Central  Thought :  Conflict. 
The  Four  Laws :  Piety,  Purity,  Ve- 
racity, Industry. 


Dualism,   the   devil    coequal  with 

God. 
Hopelessness. 


IV.  Brah?nanism. 


Diaus-Pitar,  "  Our  Father  in  Heav- 
en." 
Spirituality. 


Central  Thought :  Caste. 

Spiritual  Pride. 

Pantheism. 

Transmigration. 

Nq  Personal  Responsibility.         1 


V.  Buddhism'.        /  ^  '\ 


Central  Thought :  Self-culture. 
The  Noble  Eightfold  Path : 

1.  Right  Belief. 

2.  Right  Feelings. 

3.  Right  Speech. 

4.  Right  Actions. 

5.  Right  Means  of  Livelihood 

6.  Rigrht  Endeavor. 

7.  Right  Memory. 

8.  Right  Meditation. 

VI.   The  Religion  of  Greece. 


Karma;  or.  The  Law  of  Conse- 
quences. 

Nirvana;  or.  Extinction  of  the 
Soul. 

Selfishness. 

Sadness. 


r 


'eutral  Thought :  God  in  Nature 
Xhe  Dignity  of  Man. 
"Wisdom  the  Principal  Thing. 


The  Al-Fadir. 
Central  Thought :  Courage 
Love  of  Freedom. 
Immortality,  Heimgang, 


A  Pantheon  of  Humanized  and  Im- 
moral Gods. 
Immorality. 
Skepticism. 
VII.  Norse  Mythology. 

Nature-worship. 

A  Sordid  View  of  the  Future  Life. 


320 


THE   RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 


VIII.  Confucianism. 


Good  Features. 
Central  Thought :  The  Ideal  King- 
dom. 
JFilial  Piety. 
Patriotism. 
The  Five  Cardinal  Virtues : 

Benevolence,  Duty,  Decorum, 
Knowledge,  Faith. 
Conservatism. 


^yvV, 


^' 


Bad  Features 
Practi-cal  Atheism.     ^ 
No  Good  Cheer.         » 
No  Ambition. 
No  Progress.  '  ^ 


IX.  Islam. 

"  The  Eternal  Truth,"  one  God.        "  The  Eternal  Lie,"  Mohammed  is 

the  Prophet  of  God. 
Unitarianism. 
Central  Thought :  Kismet. 
Formalism :    The    Five   Pillars   of 
Duty: 

1.  Repeating  the  Creed. 

2.  Observing  the  Stated  Sea- 
sons of  Prayer. 

3.  Keeping  the  Fast  of  Ram- 
adan. 

4.  Performing  the  Legal  Alms. 

5.  Making  the  Pilgrimage  to 
Mecca. 

The  Sword. 

Slavery. 

Degradation  of  Woman. 

It  appears  from  this  diagram  that  all  the  good  feat- 
ures of  the  false  systems  are  to  be  found  in  Chris- 
tianity, and  of  the  bad  features  not  one ;  that  is  to  say, 
Christianity  has  both  pleroma^  and  faultlessness.    One 

1  "  The  word  pleroma  {Tz}j^puna)  in  the  New  Testament  means  that 
which  fills  up — fullness,  fulfilling,  filling  full.  The  verb  '  to  fulfill  ' 
carries  the  same  significance.  To  '  fulfill  that  which  was  spoken  by  the 
prophets'  means  to  fill  it  full  of  meaning  and  truth.  Jesus  came,  not 
to  destroy  the  law,  but  to  fulfill  it ;  that  is,  to  carry  it  out  farther.  He 
teaches  that  love  fulfills  the  law,  that  the  Church  is  the  fullness  of  Christ, 
that  Christ  fills  all  things  full  of  himself,  and  that  in  him  dwells  all  the 


THE    TRUE   RELIGION.  32 1 

• 

thing  more  remains  to  be  shown  in  order  to  estabhsh 
its  claim  to  be  the  absolute  religion  ^ — namely,  that  it 
offers  a  satisfactory  plan  of  deliverance  from  sin. 

fullness  of  the  Godhead  bodily.  One  great  distinction  between  Chris- 
tianity and  all  other  religions  is  in  this  pleroma,  or  fullness  of  life  which 
it  possesses,  and  which,  to  all  appearance,  came  from  the  life  of  Jesus." 
—  Ten  Great  Religions,  p.  504. 

"  Christianity  differs  from  all  other  religions  (on  the  side  of  truth)  in 
this,  that  it  is  a  pleroma,  or  fullness  of  knowledge.  It  does  not  differ 
by  teaching  what  has  never  been  said  or  thought  before.  Perhaps  the 
substance  of  most  of  the  statements  of  Jesus  may  be  found  scattered 
through  the  ten  religions  of  the  world,  some  here  and  some  there.  Jesus 
claims  no  monopoly  of  the  truth.  He  says,  '  My  doctrine  is  not  mine, 
but  His  who  sent  me.'  But  he  does  call  himself  '  the  Light  of  the  world,' 
and  says  that,  though  he  does  not  come  to  destroy  either  the  law  or  the 
prophets,  he  comes  to  fulfill  them  in  something  higher.  His  work  is  to 
fulfill  all  religions  with  something  higher,  broader  and  deeper  than 
what  they  have — accepting  their  truth,  supplying  their  deficiencies." — 
Ibid.,  p.  492. 

1  "  And  what,  then,  is  Christianity  ?  It  is  a  world  of  thoughts  which 
have  been  working  and  fermenting  in  the  minds  of  men  up  to  the  present 
hour;  it  is  an  all-affecting  change  in  our  mode  of  thought  and  observa- 
tion; it  is  a  transformation  of  our  entire  social  system;  it  is  a  renewal 
of  our  inner  life ;  in  short,  it  is  a  world  of  effects  which  are  matters  of 
daily  experience.  Wherever  we  may  be  and  wherever  we  may  go  we 
encounter  this  new  world  of  Christianity,  even  when  we  do  not  recog- 
nize it,  even  when  we  ignore  or  deny  it.  But,  above  all,  Christianity  is 
religion.  The  Christian  religion  is  the  source  from  which  that  stream 
of  blessings  flows  of  which  even  they  who  oppose  or  despise  the  Chris- 
tian faith  partake.  As  religion,  however,  it  is  connected  with  all  those 
religions  which  have  preceded  it,  and  that  not  merely  as  one  of  them, 
but  as  their  truth,  their  aim — as  simply  religion.  Christianity  is  the 
absolute  religion,  the  only  true  and  intrinsically  valid  religion.  Such 
is  the  pretension  with  which  it  entered  the  world  and  which  it  con- 
stantly maintains.  This  may,  perhaps,  be  called  exclusiveness  and  in- 
tolerance, but  it  is  the  intolerance  of  truth.  As  soon  as  truth  concedes 
the  possibility  of  her  opposite  being  also  true,  she  denies  herself.  As 
soon  as  Christianity  ceases  to  declare  herself  to  be  the  only  true  religion 
she  annihilates  her  power  and  denies  her  right  to  exist,  for  she  denies 
21 


322  THE  RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

Let  US  observe  how  the  false  religions  answer  the 
great  question, 

"  What  shall  I  Do  to  be  Saved  r 

1.  Fetichism No  answer. 

2.  The  Religion  of  Egypt. ..Observe  the  Maat,  or  moral  code. 

3.  Zoroastrianism Repeat  the  Patet. 

4.  Brahmanism Be  absorbed  in  Brahm. 

5.  Buddhism Be  sublimely  indifferent  to  everything. 

6.  The  Religion  of  Greece  ..No  answer. 

7.  Norse  Mythology Fight  a  good  fight  (right  or  wrong). 

8.  Confucianism Be  a  good  citizen  of  the  kingdom  of 

China. 

9.  Islam Do  your  duty  ;  that  is,  stand  by  the  Five 

Pillars. 

With  these  let  us  contrast  the  answer  of  Christianity 
as  given  in  its  great  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith. 
It  is  this :  Believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  thou 
shalt  be  saved — saved  from  the  defilement,  the  bond- 
age and  the  penalty  of  sin.  This  is  Christianity's  mas- 
terstroke ;  and  at  this  point  it  conclusively  and  finally 
demonstrates  its  superiority  over  all.  "  I  am  not 
ashamed,"  said  the  great  cosmopolitan  apostle — "  I 
am  not  ashamed  of  the  gospel  of  Christ ;  for  it  is  the 
power  of  God  unto  salvation  to  every  one  that  be- 
lieveth ;  to  the  Jew  first,  and  also  to  the  Greek " 
(Rom.  I  :  16). 

TJie  Cardinal  Truths  of  Christianity. — Observe,  now, 
the  cardinal  truths  of  the  Christian  religion,  which  may 
be  briefly  considered  under  three  heads : 

her  necessity.  The  old  world  concluded  with  the  question,  What  is 
truth?  The  new  world  began  with  the  saying  of  Christ,  'I  am  the 
Truth.'  And  this  saying  is  the  confession  of  Christian  faith." — LuTH- 
ARDT's  Saving  Truths  of  Christianity,  p.  20. 


THE    TRUE   RELIGION.  323 

(i)  As  to  God. — He  is  declared  to  be  "  a  spirit,  infinite, 
eternal  and  unchangeable  in  his  being,  wisdom,  power, 
holiness,  justice,  goodness  and  truth."  Dr.  Robert 
Flint  says  :  "  Christianity,  alone  of  religions,  gives  a 
clear,  self-consistent,  adequate  view  of  God.  It  pre- 
sents him  as  the  one  God,  eternal,  infinite,  omnipotent, 
omniscient ;  as  perfect  in  wisdom,  in  righteousness,  in 
holiness;  and  yet  as  merciful,  gracious,  full  of  good- 
ness and  love ;  a  true  Father  in  his  feelings  and  actings 
toward  men ;  the  God  and  Father  of  Jesus  Christ,  in 
whose  character  and  sacrifice  his  moral  glory  has  found 
the  highest  revelation  of  its  purity  and  beauty,  its  at- 
tractiveness and  tenderness." 

(2)  As  to  Man. — He  is  set  forth  as  the  crowning  work 
and  masterpiece  of  the  divine  creation ;  he  was  made 
in  the  image  and  after  the  likeness  of  the  infinite  One : 
put  to  the  test,  which  was  necessary  for  his  confirma- 
tion in  virtue,  he  ignominiously  fell  from  his  high  estate 
and  became  alienated  from  God ;  but  he  was  not  left 
without  hope,  for  no  sooner  had  he  fallen  than  the 
possibility  of  a  restoration  was  placed  before  him. 
"  Christianity,  alone  of  religions,"  says  Dr.  Flint,  "  ad- 
dresses itself  to  man  as  he  really  is  and  in  the  whole 
extent  of  his  being,  overlooking  no  weakness,  cloaking 
no  sin,  making  no  false  concessions,  yet  denying  no 
legitimate  supports,  and  appealing  in  due  order  and 
degree  to  faith,  reason,  affection  and  will." 

(3)  As  to  the  Relations  of  Man  with  God. — Restora- 
tion is  brought  about  through  the  vicarious  suffering  of 
a  Mediator,  the  Theanthropos,  who,  being  man  that  he 
may  be   able  to  suffer,  and   God  that  he  may  suffer 


324  THE   RELIGIONS  OF   THE    WORLD. 

enough,  bears  the  world's  sins  in  his  own  body  on  the 
tree.  The  condition  affixed  to  the  offer  of  salvation 
through  this  great  atonement  is  faith  in  Christ  crucified. 
He  that  believeth  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  shall  be 
saved.  "  Christianity,  alone  of  religions,"  again  says 
Dr.  Flint,  "  discloses  and  promises  to  man  a  complete 
communion  with  God.  It  shows  the  perfect  union  of 
the  divine  and  human  in  the  person  and  life  of  its 
Founder.  It  offers,  on  the  basis  and  surety  of  a  di- 
vinely-accomplished and  divinely-accepted  atonement, 
full  reconciliation  with  God  to  every  one  who  will  re- 
pent and  turn  from  his  sins."  ^ 

ClLvistian  Morals. — The  resultant  of  this  faith  in 
Christ  crucified  is  a  godly  life.  The  moral  code  of 
Christianity,  like  its  plan  of  salvation,  is  adapted  to  all 
classes  of  people  in  all  possible  relations  to  the  very 
end  of  time.     It   is   calculated  to  build   up  a  happy 

1  "Whether  we  look  at  the  character  of  Christ  in  its  unapproach- 
able elevation  of  purity  and  loveliness,  or  at  the  manifestation  of  God's 
love  in  his  incarnation  and  atoning  death ;  whether  we  look  at  the  in- 
fluence which  these  have  exerted  in  moulding  the  world's  history 
through  eighteen  centuries,  or  at  the  power  they  have  shown  themselves 
to  possess  of  sustaining  and  guiding  the  believer's  life  and  of  ministering 
to  his  comfort  and  peace, — we  feel  we  are  in  the  presence  of  that  which 
is  unique  because  it  is  alone  divine.  Christianity  is  the  only  system 
which  has  dared  to  probe  to  the  bottom  of  the  wound  of  which  hu- 
manity is  so  sadly  conscious,  because  it  alone  was  provided  with  a  per- 
fect remedy.  It  can  present  the  ideal  at  which  men  should  aim  with- 
out detraction,  because  it  alone  can  hold  out  a  prospect  of  its  realiza- 
tion. It  can  exhibit  the  extent  to  which  men  fall  short  of  this  ideal  in 
all  its  awfulness,  because  it  alone  bridges  the  fatal  gulf.  In  other  re- 
ligions we  have  man  seeking  God — feeling  after  him  if  haply  he  might 
find  him :  here  only  is  God  seeking  man  in  the  fullness  and  freeness  of 
redeeming  love." — Alexander  Stewart. 


THE    TRUE   RELIGION.  325 

home,  a  pure  society  and  a  just  government.  It  en- 
larges the  heart  of  a  man,  giving  him  a  commission 
of  love  to  the  antipodes,  and  thus  fits  him  for  a  place 
in  the  universal  neighborhood,  the  kingdom  of  God. 

TJie  Central  Truth  of  Christianity. — The  central  truth 
of  the  Christian  religion  is  Jesus  Christ.^  He  is  first, 
midst,  last.  He  is  all  and  in  all.  For  other  foundation 
can  no  man  lay  than  that  is  laid,  which  is  Jesus  Christ 
(i  Cor.  3:11). 

(i)  Chnst  as  the  Manifestatioii  of  God. — He  is  repre- 
sented as  the  manifestation  of  God.  The  Word  was 
made  flesh  and  dwelt  among  us  (and  we  beheld  his 
glory,  the  glory  as  of  the  only-begotten  of  the  Father), 
full  of  grace  and  truth  (John  i  :  14).    For  in  him  dwell- 

^  "  But  if  I  say  Christianity.  I  thereby  say  Jesus  Christ.  Christianity 
appeared  in  the  world,  not  as  a  system  of  philosophy,  not  as  a  code  of 
morality,  but  as  an  actual  fact — the  fact  of  the  person  Christ  Jesus. 
All  depends  on  him.  With  him  Christianity  stands  or  falls.  It  cannot 
be  separated  from  him.  It  was  not  his  precepts,  but  his  person  and  his 
testimony  concerning  himself,  which  brought  about  the  crisis  in  Israel. 
He  himself  made  his  whole  cause  depend  upon  his  person.  We  can- 
not separate  it  from  him.  Rationalism  has  attempted  to  separate  Chris- 
tianity from  Christ,  and  to  reduce  it  to  a  mere  morality.  But  experience 
has  proved  the  attempt  impossible.  Jesus  Christ  does  not  bear  the  same 
relation  to  Christianity  as  Mohammed  does  to  Mohammedanism,  or  as 
any  other  founder  of  a  religion  to  the  religion  he  has  founded ;  but  he 
is  himself  Christianity.  To  speak  of  Christianity  is  to  speak  not  of 
doctrines  and  precepts,  but  of  Jesus  Christ.  Christianity  is  indeed  a 
summaiy  of  truths,  a  new  doctrine,  a  philosophy  if  you  will,  a  new 
view  of  the  world,  a  new  explanation  of  history,  a  new  mode  of  wor- 
ship, a  new  morality,  a  new  rule  of  life,  etc.  It  is  all  these,  because  it 
is  a  fact  universal  in  its  nature.  But  all  these  depend  upon  the  person 
of  Jesus  Christ,  are  given  with  him  and  included  in  him — stand  and 
fall  with  him." — LuthaRDt's  Fundamental  Truths  of  Christianity^ 
p.  256. 


326  THE  RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

eth  all  the  fullness  of  the  Godhead  bodily  (Col.  2  :  9). 
In  Jesus  Christ  all  the  divine  attributes  are  brought 
within  our  human  ken.  "  God's  general  revelation  of 
himself  is  by  fixed  laws  of  order  which  know  no  pity, 
which  show  no  forgiveness,  which  are  indifferent  to  the 
interests  of  individuals,  which  conceal  the  divine  char- 
acter in  some  respects  while  they  reveal  it  in  others. 
God's  special  revelation  of  himself  by  intervening 
among  these  laws  in  miraculous  acts  and  inspired 
words  brings  him  nearer  to  individual  hearts,  and  yet 
it  leaves  him  far  away ;  for,  after  all,  but  signs  and 
sounds  have  been  given,  not  himself;  he  is  himself 
still  shrouded  in  darkness,  still  hidden  where  no  man 
can  approach  him.  Can  he  come  yet  nearer  man,  that 
man  may  draw  closer  to  him  ?  Christianity  answers, 
and  its  answer  is  Christ, — the  person,  the  character  and 
the  work  of  Christ."  ^ 

{2)  Christ  as  the  Sin-bearer. — But  Christ  is  not  merely 
the  manifestation  of  God ;  he  is  set  forth  also  as  the  sin- 
bearer,  and  as  such  the  Saviour  of  the  world.  In  vain 
had  guilty  men,  groaning  under  the  burden  of  their 
guilt,  looked  elsewhere  for  deliverance ;  in  vain  had 
they  bowed  before  their  idols  and  sought  counsel  at 
their  oracles ;  the  gods  were  dumb,  the  oracles  were 
silent,  there  was  no  voice  nor  answer  nor  any  that  re- 

• 

^  "  Christianity  fully  recognizes  the  whole  revelation  of  God  in  man, 
and  represents  the  completion  of  the  revelation  of  God  as  made  through 
a  perfect  man.  The  religion  of  Greece  tended  to  form  artists,  and  that 
of  Scandinavia,  warriors ;  Brahmanism  is  the  religion  of  priests,  and 
Buddhism  of  ascetics ;  but  Christianity  aims  at  the  production  of  men, 
true  and  complete  men,  sons  of  God,  perfect  as  the  Father  in  heaven 
is  perfect." — Dr.  Robert  Flint,  in  Faiths  of  the  World,  p.  358. 


THE    TRUE   RELIGION.  327 

garded.  "  At  the  end  of  the  long  ascent  of  natural  de- 
velopment we  find  ourselves  only  on  a  Babel  tower, 
looking  heavenward,  but  with  no  wings  to  mount. 
Here  the  dreams  of  optimists  and  the  sanguine  hopes 
of  reformers  have  halted  and  died.  That  which  the 
human  heart  cannot  but  long  for,  and  catch  gleams 
of  in  the  mute  prophecies  of  nature,  yet  cannot  realize 
of  itself,  is  at  last  fulfilled  in  the  redemption  of  Christ. 
From  this  shadowy  tabernacle  of  earth  and  sky,  where 
the  inexorable  debt  of  nature  is  paid  with  '  blood  of 
goats  and  calves,'  *  by  his  own  blood  he  has  entered 
once  into  the  holy  place,  having  obtained  eternal  re- 
demption for  us.'  "  ^ 

(3)  Christ  as  the  Ideal  Man. — Still  further,  Christ  is 
set  forth  as  the  Exemplar  of  right  living.  It  is  not 
enough  that  in  him  we  should  behold  God,  nor  that 
through  him  we  should  have  our  sins  forgiven :  we 
must  have  placed  before  us  somewhere  an  illustration 
of  perfect  character,  that  we  may  pattern  our  lives  after 
it.  In  Christ  we  mark  the  perfect  Man,  and  the  con- 
stant aspiration  of  the  true  Christian  is  that  he  may 
be    more    like   him.^      "  It   has   been    reserved,"  says 

^  The  Old  Bible  and  the  New  Science. 

2  *'  Christianity  was  not  only  a  doctrine,  but  a  life.  Oh,  let  us  strive 
to  imitate  that  life  !  Take  it  with  you,  my  young  brethren,  into  the  dust 
and  glare  of  the  busy  world ;  amid  the  struggles  and  duties  of  this 
place  of  learning  now,  amid  the  temptations  of  great  cities  and  eager 
lives  hereafter,  into  the  country  parsonage  and  the  lawyer's  chambers, 
the  merchant's  counting-house  and  the  soldier's  tent.  Take  but  this 
with  you,  and,  pure,  happy,  noble,  confident,  you  may  smile  hereafter 
when  men  tell  you  that  Christianity  is  dead.  Do  this,  and  it  shall  never 
die ;  it  shall  grow  younger  with  years ;  it  shall  deepen  in  faith  and 
wisdom,  in  dominion  and  power,  in  purity  and  peace ;  the  dew  of  its 


328      THE  RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

Lecky,  "  for  Christianity  to  present  the  world  an  ideal 
character  which,  through  all  the  changes  of  eighteen 
centuries,  has  filled  the  hearts  of  men  with  an  impas- 
sioned love ;  has  shown  itself  capable  of  acting  on  all 
ages,  nations,  temperaments  and  conditions ;  has  not 
only  been  the  highest  pattern  of  virtue,  but  the  highest 
incentive  to  its  practice,  and  has  exercised  so  deep  an 
influence  that  it  may  be  truly  said  that  the  simple  record 
of  three  short  years  of  active  life  has  done  more  to 
regenerate  and  soften  mankind  than  all  the  disquisi- 
tions of  philosophers  and  all  the  exhortations  of  moral- 
ists. It  has  indeed  been  the  wellspring  of  whatever  is 
best  and  purest  in  the  Christian  life."  ^ 

birth  shall  he  as  the  womb  of  the  morning,  and  all  they  who  believe  and 
live  thereby  shall  shine  as  the  brii^htness  of  the  firmament,  and  as  the  stars 
for  ever  and  ever." — Canon  Farrar  to  Students  of  Cambridge  University. 
^  It  would  be  profitable  to  note  the  failures  of  the  false  religions  and 
philosophies  in  their  endeavor  to  picture  the  ideal  Man,  Canon  Farrar 
says :  "  The  Stoic  wise  man  is  a  sort  of  moral  phoenix,  impassible  and 
repulsive.  He  is  intrepid  in  dangers,  free  from  all  passion,  happy  in  ad- 
versity, calm  in  the  stonn ;  he  alone  knows  how  to  live,  because  he 
alone  knows  how  to  die ;  he  is  the  master  of  the  world,  because  he  is 
master  of  himself  and  the  equal  of  God;  he  looks  down  upon  every- 
thing with  sublime  imperturbability,  despising  the  sadnesses  of  hu- 
manity and  smiling  with  inviting  loftiness  at  all  our  hopes  and  all  our 
fears.  But  in  another  sketch  of  this  faultless  and  unpleasant  monster 
Seneca  presents  us  not  the  proud  athlete  who  challenges  the  universe 
and  is  invulnerable  to  all  the  stings  and  arrows  of  passion  or  of  fate, 
but  a  hero  in  the  serenity  of  absolute  triumph,  more  tender  indeed,  but 
still  without  desires,  without  passions,  without  needs — who  can  feel  no 
pity  because  pity  is  a  weakness  which  disturbs  his  sapient  calm.  Well 
might  the  eloquent  Bossuet  exclaim,  as  he  read  of  these  chimerical  per- 
fections, *  It  is  to  take  a  tone  too  lofty  for  feeble  and  mortal  men.  But, 
O  maxims  truly  pompous !  O  affected  insensibility  !  O  false  and  imag- 
inary wisdom,  which  fancies  itself  strong  because  it  is  hard,  and  gen- 
erous because  it  is  puffed  up!'" 


THE    TRUE  RELIGION.  329 

Just  here  we  observe  the  vital  difference  between 
Christianity  viewed  as  a  moral  system  and  all  the  other 
religions  of  the  earth.  The  latter  furnish  more  or  less 
elaborate  codes  of  maxims  and  precepts,  but  the  former, 
doing  all  this,  and  doing  it  more  satisfactorily,  goes 
farther  still  and  furnishes  an  illustration  of  its  moral 
code  in  the  person  of  a  perfect  Man.^  The  best  morality 
of  paganism  is  but  a  mummied  body  of  maxims,  frag- 
rant of  balms  and  spices,  but  without  warmth  or  power  ; 
while  that  of  Christianity,  being  quickened  by  divine 
inspiration,  is  as  a  living  soul.  The  Golden  Rule  of 
Jesus  differs  from  the  same  precept  in  its  pagan  form 
as  Aaron's  budded  rod  from  a  dry  wisp  of  papyrus. 
Our  Master  speaks  in  Christian  ethics  as  one  having 
authority;  and,  though  other  teachers  have  let  fall  in 
fragmentary  utterances  not  a  few  of  the  truths  enun- 
ciated in  his  gospel,  the  world  is  still  constrained  to 
admit  that  man  never  spake  like  this  Man.  The 
superiority  of  the  Christian  system  of  morals  to  all 
others  may  be  clearly  perceived  in  the  contrasted 
characters  of  the  Christian  and  non-Christian  nations. 

Grapes  are  gathered  from  vines,  and  thistles  from 
the  thistle-bush.  The  religion  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ  is  the  only  religion  that  has  ever  produced 

^  "  Yes,  the  life  of  Christ  is  indeed  an  example,  a  vTzoypafifwv,  over 
which  the  loveliest  of  saints'  lives  have  been  but  faintly  traced  ;  a  glory 
of  which  all  that  is  bright  among  Christians  has  been  but  *  a  pale  image 
and  faint  reflection.'  Beautiful  indeed  has  been  the  life  of  the  saints 
of  God,  and  one  has  been  full  of  charity,  and  one  of  purity,  and  one 
of  zeal ;  but  this  life  is  not  a  type  of  any  one  excellence,  but  a  radia- 
tion of  them  all — not  virtuous,  but  Virtue;  not  truthfulness,  but  Truth." 
— Farrar. 


330  THE   RELIGIONS   OF  THE    WORLD. 

a   thoroughly   enhghtened   people   or   a   really   holy 
life.i 

Christiayiity  the  T^nie  Religion. — We  arrive  thus  at  the 
conclusion  that  Christianity,  alone  of  religions,  is  of 
divine  origin,  and  that,  as  such,  it  must  supplant  all 
others  and  possess  the  earth.^  The  Seed  of  woman 
named  in  the  protevangel,  though  bruised  on  Golgotha 
in  his  struggle  with  Error,  shall  yet  crush  the  life  out 
of  it.  The  seed  of  Abraham,  multiplied  as  the  stars 
of  heaven,  shall  bless  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  (Gal. 
3  :  i6).  The  caravans  of  Midian  and  Ephah,  the  fleets 
of  Tarshish,  the  royal  armies  of  the  Gentiles,  shall  bring 


*  "  The  morality  of  paganism,"  says  Farrar,  "  was,  by  its  own  con- 
fession, insufficient.  It  was  tentative  where  Christianity  is  authorita- 
tive; it  was  dim  and  partial  where  Christianity  is  bright  and  complete; 
it  was  inadequate  to  rouse  the  sluggish  carelessness  of  mankind  where 
Christianity  came  with  an  imperial  and  awakening  power;  it  gives  only 
a  rule  where  Christianity  supplies  a  principle.  And  even  where  its 
teachings  were  absolutely  coincident  with  those  of  Scripture  it  failed  to 
ratify  them  with  a  sufficient  sanction ;  it  failed  to  announce  them  with 
the  same  powerful  and  contagious  ardor ;  it  failed  to  furnish  an  abso- 
lutely faultless  and  vivid  example  of  their  practice ;  it  failed  to  inspire 
them  with  an  irresistible  motive;  it  failed  to  support  them  with  a  pow- 
erful comfort  under  the  difficulties  which  were  sure  to  be  encountered 
in  the  aim  after  a  consistent  and  holy  life," 

2  "  Other  religions  are  defective  and  erroneous,  ours  is  perfect  and 
entire  ;  their  systems  were  esoteric,  ours  is  universal ;  theirs  temporary 
and  for  the  few,  ours  eternal  and  for  the  race ;  a  handful  read  the  phi- 
losophers, myriads  would  die  for  Christ;  they  in  their  popularity  could 
barely  found  a  school,  Christ  from  his  cross  rules  the  world ;  they  could 
not  even  conceive  the  ideas  of  a  society  without  falling  into  miserable 
error,  Christ  established  an  eternal  and  glorious  kingdom,  whose  theory 
for  all,  whose  history  in  the  world,  prove  it  to  be  indeed  what  it  was 
from  the  first  proclaimed  to  be — the  kingdom  of  heaven,  the  kingdom 
of  God," — Farrar's  Witness  of  History  to  Christ,  p,  148, 


THE    TRUE   RELIGION.  33 1 

gold  and  incense  and  shall  show  forth  the  praises  of 
the  Christ  of  God. 

The  line  of  argument  pursued  in  this  brief  series  of 
essays  has  been  kept  strictly  within  the  limits  of  Com- 
parative Religion :  it  might  be  vastly  strengthened, 
were  this  within  our  province,  by  a  consideration  of 
the  part  which  Christianity  has  taken  in  the  enlight- 
enment and  uplifting  of  the  nations.  We  should  find 
it  no  difficult  matter  to  present  an  imposing  array  of 
^esta  Christi,  for  the  altars  of  the  gospel  are  hung — 
like  the  fountain-shrine  of  Lourdes — with  crutches  and 
disused  bandages,  the  eloquent  testimony  of  such  as 
believe  themselves  to  have  been  healed  by  its  medicinal 
virtue  ;  and  its  pillars — like  those  of  the  ancient  temple 
— are  adorned  with  the  golden  shields  of  many  who, 
drinking  of  its  cool  waters  on  the  march,  have  been 
made  strong  out  of  their  weakness  and  enabled  to  put 
to  flight  the  armies  of  the  aliens. 

The  path  of  the  gospel  in  history  is  marked  on  either 
side  with  monuments  of  loving-kindness.  It  has  re- 
lieved the  poor  and  suffering,  enlightened  the  ignorant 
and  helped  the  downtrodden  to  their  feet.  It  is  now 
nearly  nineteen  hundred  years  since  Jesus  the  Christ 
came  from  heaven  to  save  our  ruined  race.  We  look 
back  over  those  centuries  with  wonder  and  gratitude,  for 
one  by  one  the  nations  have  arrayed  themselves  under 
the  red-cross  banner  until  Antichrist  to-day  rules  solely 
in  the  lands  that  lie  in  darkness  and  the  shadow  of  death.^ 

^ "  When  we  think  of  these  moral  characteristics,  and  see  what  the  Chris- 
tian religion  has  done  for  the  world,  see  the  commentary  which  eighteen 
centuries  of  civilization  have  written  upon  the  Gospels,  see  what  Europe 


"v 


332  THE'  RELIGIONS   OF   THE    WORLD. 

We  are  therefore  in  a  position  to  say,  "  As  for  God,  his 
way  is  perfect ;  the  word  of  the  Lord  is  tried ;  he  is  a 
buckler  to  all  them  that  trust  in  him  "  (2  Sam.  22  :  31). 
We  rejoice  in  our  confident  assurance  that  the  light 
of  this  glorious  gospel  of  the  blessed  God,  which  has 
been  shining  with  an  ever-increasing  radiance  since  it 
first  arose  above  Bethlehem,  shall  continue  to  shine 
brighter  and  brighter  unto  the  perfect  day.  Lift  up 
your  eyes,  O  believer,  and  mark  the  innumerable  starry 
host :  even  so  shall  be  the  fruit  of  the  travail  of  Em- 
manuel's soul. 

"  For  him  shall  endless  prayer  be  made, 
And  princes  throng  to  crown  his  head  ; 
His  name,  like  sweet  perfume,  shall  rise 
With  every  morning  sacrifice. 

"  Let  eveiy  creature  rise  and  bring 
Peculiar  honors  to  our  King, 
Angels  descend  with  songs  again, 
And  earth  repeat  the  loud  Af?ien." 

and  America  are  to-day,  and  then  turn  back  to  Judea,  to  that  haughty, 
bigoted,  exclusive,  illiterate,  despised  race,  and  see  where  the  religion 
was  cradled,  we  cannot  but  think  that  it  was  providential  in  its  birth  and 
beneficence.  Shakespeare  and  Newton  towered  above  the  average  level 
of  society  in  their  time,  like  Teneriffe  above  the  sea.  But  when  we 
think  of  this  Jewish  boy  rising  up  at  the  feet  of  the  Pharisees  and  Sad- 
ducees,  with  the  religions  of  the  Ganges  on  the  one  hand  and  that  of 
Olympus  on  the  other,  and  think  what  it  was  he  said  and  wrought  and 
contributed  to  the  world,  he  towers  so  high  above  Shakespeare  and 
Newton  that  the  distance  between  these  and  the  average  level  of  life 
in  their  day,  in  the  comparison,  becomes  a  mere  ripple  on  the  surface 
of  the  world." — From  an  Address  by  WENDELL  Phillips. 

THE   END. 


